Once in a Capricious moon
by runswithlolwolves
Summary: Gamzee's got a secret. A secret that only Karkat knows, a secret that no one else can find out about. Not even Tavros… ESPECIALLY not Tavros. Rated M for future scenes *wonk* and Werewolf!Gamzee...kind of. *MY HEADCANON IS COMPLICATED BUT FUN!*
1. Where the Author gets her shit together

**_*If any of you have noticed, this is indeed a re-edit! It got to the point that I would just stop and ask myself 'seriously? What's wrong with you?! LOOK AT ALL THOSE MISTAKES, OH MY GOD WHY." It's probably still god awful, but it's a hella lot better than it was before._**

**_Just to clarify again. _**

**_Re-edited because I thought it was a piece of shit! And I Aint got no shame in admitting that. It took me three days to sift my way through my own shitty writing so it shouldn't take too long to sort my shit out and post the new chapters. _**

**_Chapter 1: Where the Author gets her shit together long enough to re-upload her story._**

_It was always the same._

_'Always the same_', Gamzee thought as he wandered, BARELY on time, into the ruckus that was third period Art class. Walking straight in without knocking he headed to the back of the class. Ignoring the dirty look he got from the teacher as he walked past, though he thought that by now they would be well used to his untimely arrivals, he made a bee line towards the back of the room.

After finally making it past the teachers searing glare, making it through the incredibly cramped room without knocking anything over, he stopped in front of the long desk right at the back of the class and beheld what was left of the troll race.

And what a sight it was indeed.

Whoever had decided that placing twelve trolls disguised as humans into one classroom was a good idea was so OBVIOUSLY out of their godamn thinkpan. ESPECIALLY so if said class was right before lunch break.

Having a bunch of trolls in an enclosed room was bad enough, but adding paint, glue and papier-mâché into that scenario and you might as well declare it as a riot zone.

Sighing, Gamzee hurled his bag next to Karkat's chair, causing the crabby troll to jump at the noise and mess up the picture he had been attempting to draw (Extra stress being put on the word ATTEMPTING). But it still didn't change the fact that Karkat had practically poured his heart and soul into his random scribbling's of boredom. And Gamzee's hurling of bags towards him had fucked it up. Gamzee wasn't and most certainly didn't have time to prepare himself for the crayon that was hurled at his head or for Karkat's indignant shouts and screeches that quickly followed. Wincing as he shouldered the yelling, plonking himself down on the chair next to him, Gamzee had just enough time to give his morail a quick shit eating grin of apology before promptly face planting onto the desk with a groan.

It was bad enough that these damned earth school hours started so early, but this splitting headache that had been with him the past week was only dampening his mood further.

Wait _'dampened his mood?' _Chucking him into the godamn ocean, holding his head underwater until the salt burned his throat, then hauling him out kicking and screaming like Karkat's first swim would be a better example… then setting the inside of his head on fire would be an even BETTER example of how he felt at the moment… Ok maybe not as bad as chucking Karkat into a pool like John had a couple of days ago. He was pretty sure that John still had the wounds from when Karkat had gone after him with sickles after that move, even WITH his accelerated healing and god tier statues. But any way you looked at it, the fact remained that even with all of his god tier powers he'd still almost gotten his ass handed to him on a silver platter by one of the smallest, but surprisingly fucking speediest, as he'd found out himself on many occasions, troll in the group but also the most bitchtits best friend that was his morail, Karkat.

But whatever boosts the prankster's gambit he supposed.

Gah, this was getting him nowhere. If anything it was making his head ache worse. He needed a distraction before his brain ate itself.

Braving the bright light of the art rooms he looked up to observe the yelling and screeching of his fellow trolls around him, wishing that they'd shut their motherfucking pie holes for two GODAMN seconds.

It was still strange to look around and see them in their human guises. Since the game had ended Earth had been restored. Of Alternia however they did not know of yet, but earth was a pretty bitchtits place to settle down at anyway. With no caste system there was no risk of being culled if you could not produce a pail, which in itself was a miracle for some certain trolls he knew _*COUGH COUGH!Eridan!SPLUTTER WHEEZE*_, or if you had a part not quite working right or playing up you wouldn't be culled on the spot. Which was always a perk if you looked around at some of the trolls up in his group.

So they had decided to make a home of the blue planet. Not having the technology to search for their home planet in the small chance it had been restored, they had all ended up in Washington with John. Dave, Jade and Rose had decided to tag along as well rather than go back to their respected old homes. After the initial shock of finding everyone, alive and in almost ship shape condition, everyone had agreed to stay in their current location of outland Washington and go to John's old school before the game had begun. With a little help from the alpha kids and their '_connections_' (Hey don't make that face, Roxy could be one fucking persuasive bitch when you pried the vodka bottle away from her long enough.) They had been able to pose as foreign exchange students who had moved to Washington to continue their studies.

Not because they WANTED to though, oh dear grist NO.

It didn't matter whether you were practically god or if you were a superior species. Eventually they would run out of Grist to alchemise stuff and convert into human money. God or not, they needed to eat. And unless they wanted to be stuck working twenty-four hour shifts at gas stations for a living they needed to suck it the fuck up and go to school. And it wouldn't hurt any to learn about human culture either, seeing as they knew almost next to jack shit about what the human 'festivals' and 'customs' were all up and about.

But it wasn't like Gamzee could just waltz right up into a human establishment hanging all out and 'Au natural' with his horns and shit with another eleven other trolls behind him marauding about somewhere now could he? No they needed disguises.

And luckily they had them.

Looking down briefly at his now quite pale, pinkish skin, he couldn't help but marvel at how well Sollux, Equius and Kanaya had made these things. 'These things' as Gamzee nicknamed them because hell to the NO was he going to be able to remember their full names (Something along the lines of "holographic-technological-timey-whimy-bullshit-thing-that-hid-their-horns-in-an-alternate-space-in-time-while-changing-their-appearences-and-looking-bitchtits-cause-that's-what-Kanaya-said). A Holo-band or something like that.

Basically they were just a piece of jewellery or something that the trolls wore that would project a holographic 'film' over their bodies. They were originally big heavy metal bands Equius had made that went around their arms like a tourniquet band, but after a lot of discussion and, very loud, yelling from Karkat a problem was found that couldn't be avoided. Stating the obvious, they would not have been able to go around without someone noticing the huge _'bleeping bullshit bands'_ on them. Gamzee smiled slightly into his arm as he remembered his best friend voicing his opinion on the matter.

**_*flashback to the past, but not too far back*_**

_"DOES NO ONE ON THIS GODAMN PIECE OF SHIT PLANET HAVE ANY GREY MATTER LEFT FUNCTIONING IN THEIR THINKPANS TO NOT SEE THE OBVIOUS FUCKING PROBLEM HERE? I DON'T CARE HOW FUCKING DUMB THE HUMAN RACE IS, SOME ASSHOLE IN THE STREET IS GOING TO NOTICE THAT WE HAVE A PIECE OF FUCKING BEEPING BLINKING ALIEN METAL BULLSHIT STRAPPED TO OUR APPENDAGES. SO NOW, NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE THE WORLDS MOST UNSUBTLE PIECE OF METAL CLAMPED ON TO OUR BODIES, WE ALSO HAVE THE WORLDS MOST HEAVY AS FUCKING CHRIST PIECE OF UNSUBTLE METAL STRAPPED TO OUR BODIES. OH, IM GOING TO FUCKING ENJOY SEEING NEPETA LIFT THIS SHIT AND HAUL IT AROUND ALL DAY. OH WAIT. I CAN'T" _and it was so, that at this point in time, Karkat somehow broke the charts with how loud he yelled on the_**'PROMPTLY-FLIP-MY-SHIT -O-METER BECAUSE THE PEOPLE AROUND ME ARE FUCKING DIPSHITS'**_meter _"BECAUSE I CAN'T FUCKING MOVE THE TWO STEPS TO THE OTHER ROOM TO WITNESS THIS MIRACLE! DOES THIS CLEAR UP THE FUCKING SITUATION? Good. _

_"Get the fuck off the floor Gamzee and shut your bulge swallower, I can say miracles if I damn well want to!"_

Not one of Karkat's most graceful rants, nor the quickest, but he had raised a good point. Only Equius could wear the bands with ease without toppling horns over heels like a flushed red motherfucker. And people WOULD start taking notice if they all up and wandered down the street to buy milk with an iron band around their arms beeping occasionally while struggling to walk. Kanaya of course had come to the rescue by suggesting that Sollux install the chip that projected their image into an Accessory that they could wear and that Jade could help out with her godtier powers and create a free space in space onto which their horns mass could be projected so that if anyone was to run into Tavros let's say, they wouldn't coat hang themselves on nothing but thin air as it would seem.

Oh and she'd also volunteered with making the accessories that would hide the chip, MUCH to the despair of the other trolls as they groaned in unison at having to be Kanaya's fashion dummy AGAIN.

An icy glare from Kanaya and a reapplying of jade lipstick shut them all up.

That's what led to him sitting in an art classroom full of humans, oblivious to him or his friend's true appearances with nothing more than an innocent enough looking purple septum through his right ear, Indigo eyes the only abnormal thing about him. If you didn't count the clown facepaint but then again, why would someone want to up and hate the paint?

Turning his head to the side and resting it on his folded arms he considered what people had to hate about the paint while looking over at Karkat on his right. All skinny pale albino skin and red eyes flashing angrily. Wearing his traditional black turtleneck skivvy and tight, tight jeans, trying to fend off the breeze as always, Karkat was rubbing furiously at his paper trying to erase the mistake Gamzee had made him make. Karkat probably fit the 'human' look the best of all the trolls. A close second would have to be Nepeta and Equius on his left, Nepeta's green eyes twice their size and glowing with excitement. Still in her trademarked cat hat and trench coat that was three sizes too big for her, Nepeta seemed to fit into the category of 'cute' the most. While Equius looked for the most part, the overprotective best friend/brother of Nepeta. They were almost complete opposites, but they seemed to pull of the human 'best-friendship' the best.

Watching Nepeta as she colouring in a page with crayons, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she mapped out a small shipping wall while Equius, sitting next to her, raised his dark blue eyes to the ceiling in exasperation while he tried to stop her from shipping him and Aradia in such a 'lewd' way before giving up entirely and rummaging around his bag for one of his small portable towels. Aradia's loud laughter from across Nepeta and Equius drew his attention away from the two. Aradia seemed to be encouraging Nepeta on, teasing Equius about how he would soon be running out of towels at the rate he was using them all up, before jerking back when something flew past her nose. Smoothing down her dark red skirt and checking her black t-shirt for any signs of offending paint when the jar of paint tainted water went sliding past her and down the table towards Sollux at the end, who ninja lifted his laptop out of the way without looking before water splashed all over it. No one in the class even bothered to look up as it slid off the table with a crash except for maybe the teacher, who lost just a bit more hair from his stressed hair pulling that day.

Satisfied with the state of her shirt she turned her almost brown-red eyes to Sollux, raising an eyebrow at the look on his face. The bi-polar Psionic was currently ignoring his work entirely, choosing rather to code something on his laptop, probably working to plant another virus on Eridans computer. Seconds later this was confirmed as Sollux looked up, smiling deviously to Aradia, before re-adjusting his miscoloured glasses and looking back down. Typed rapidly before leaning back, Sollux looking extremely smug with himself before turning his gaze away from the laptop screen and onto Eridan. Said sea dweller seemed to detect a disturbance in the force and looked up catching Sollux's smirk and frowning.

"Sol? Wwhat are you even-"Eridan started before jumping as his phone lit up and started vibrating its way around the table, screeching out every single porn theme ever to be created and even a few Alternian ones, drawing the attention of the table of trolls. Needless to say it almost scared the scarf off of Eridan, who frantically tried to turn his phone off before catching the attention of the teacher (Said poor teacher proceeded to smack his head down on the desk in defeat, questioning whatever god that was up there about what he'd done to deserve such a horrifying group of students) or other students. After finally managing to shut it off by taking out the entire back and yanking out the batteries he snapped his head up, searching for the guilty culprit he already knew, furious purple eyes settling onto Sollux.

"THE FLYING GLUBBING FUCK SOLLUX?" He yelled shoulders hunched, his scarf bunching up around his face and getting caught up in his glasses.

"What?" the psionic asked innocently, scuffing one of his black and white converse clad feet on the ground "Not my fault if you don't check your subscriptions to all those sites that you've been using up our ENTIRE internet usage with"

Over the top of Eridans indignant spluttering, Terezi's mad cackling could be heard loud and clear over the noise the other trolls seemed determined to make. Gamzee turned his head towards the noise just in time to see Feferi wiping up some red paint from hers and Terezi's clothing. Not that Feferi didn't think Terezi wasn't capable of doing it herself, but Terezi seemed determined to cover herself in more of the 'candy red' paint. While Feferi had to keep Terezi from tasting the lead based paint or whacking students she didn't like with her dragon hilted "seeing" cane, Kanaya continued unperturbed next to them, quickly dodging a swish from Terezi's cane without looking up while sketching fashion designs (that she was SOMEHOW going to get Karkat into) and absently texting with Rose as she worked all at the same time. Vriska was at the end of the table sketching spiders or…something somehow resembling a spider he guessed…? No seriously, what the hell was she drawing!? Next to her Tavros was chuckling quietly at her repeated failures as she got more and more frustrated.

_Tavros_

Of all the trolls he was glad to see alive after they had all landed on Earth, Tavros topped the motherfucking list. King of the hill on his list of dead friends he wished he could forget about but would never dare forget at the same moment. Fucking won the race and got first motherfucking prize on the list of friends that he wished would just stop hurting so much when he thought about what he'd done to them, but at the same time not letting himself forget what he'd done, silently hoping that the pain wouldn't leave. '_It's_ _because you deserved it' _a small voice whispered in his head_ 'it was YOUR FUCKING FAU- Shit no calm down, there's no need for that sort of thinking up in here now' _Gamzee rubbed the bridge of his noise soothingly and exhaled _'no need for those nasty thoughts up in here at all'_

He hadn't thought that the game would ever be kind enough to give back his dead friends, ESPECIALLY not Tavros. Any other time in his life he'd have given his thanks the Mirthful Messiahs. But no, those once happy memories of the mirthful messiahs only brought on the nightmares of his friends dying by his hands faster and more horrific to his sleep now.

Wincing visibly and groaning as he hid his eyes once again from the artificial light as another flash of pain ripped through his brain, starting just below the horns and ending as a slow burn behind his eyelids. Fuck what part of _'stop thinking you stupid fuck'_ hadn't his thinkpan gotten? Flapping one of his arms about in an attempt to get Sollux's attention in the hopes that he might be able to nab some migraine medication if he had any, though knowing Sollux he wouldn't have left their hive- er HOUSE, wait no- (man humans were WEIRD when it came to naming shit) without the handy pill jar.

"DRUGS" he demanded voice muffled by his sleeve, "pain medication, Pills here, fucking _Panadole_? _Valium?_ Shit just fucking something!" Sollux arched an eyebrow before ruffling around his bag for his migraine medicine. Chucking the bottle at him once it was found, Gamzee only just managed to catch it before it fell off the table and onto the floor after it rebounding off his shoulder when he hadn't even bothered moving from his position of safety his arms were providing from the light.

"Don't fucking overdose on this shit, take ONE. This stuff was designed to take down trunk-beasts." Sollux frowned as Gamzee struggled with the child proof cap.

"Fucking brilliant then bro" Gamzee muttered before ignoring Sollux's exasperated growl at his idiocy when he took two.

~!~

Karkat glanced over at the two, eyebrows furrowing in concern at the exchange. Gamzee was complaining? Gamzee was complaining about PAIN?

Gamzee never complained about pain?

Unless the pain was worse than being stabbed-by-Jack-noir-a-couple-of-times or getting kicked in the bulge he would more often than not give no signs that anything was discomforting or hurting him and just grin and bear it. Usually keeping his complaining to a minimum until Kanaya or Karkat or another troll told him to stop being either, "So Foolish As To Not Accept My help Because It Is Obvious That You Have Injured Yourself, Now Stop Being A Wriggler And Let Me Get You Some Medicine Or Perhaps A Strong Tea." or rather "Stop fucking arguing and FUCKING HOLD STILL SO I CAN PUT SOME DETOLE ON THIS SHIT. For fucks sake Gamzee! You're dripping blood on the fucking floor!"

Shit, this might actually be serious for Gamzee to WILLINGLY ask for pills from Sollux.

In the end, Karkat deciding against pressing the matter because apparently Gamzee was dead set on falling the fuck asleep right there and then.

This was starting to worry him though. Throughout the month that they had arrived Gamzee had been getting steadily worse. And as Gamzee's morail, he couldn't help but feel guilty that he was letting Gamzee get into this sort of state.

Fuck he was a terrible morail.

~!~

Tavros was in the middle of sketching in the horns of a portrait of Tinkerbull and chuckling quietly, Vriska STILL couldn't seem to get her spider-mom sketch for her visual design project right, when he heard a loud smack almost as if someone had passed out on their desk- Oh. Well it DID actually appear that Gamzee had passed out on his desk. Again?

Tavros couldn't help but frown a little, not that he was mad at Gamzee or anything! He was worried for Gamzee of course! , Though he had all good reasons to frown. Since they had arrived on earth Gamzee seemed to be… well almost like he was slowly… Sighing silently so Vriska wouldn't hear, he put down his pencil. He just hoped that Gamzee was alright. Even though he had been dead, Tavros had very well seen Gamzee go insane and go on a rampage through the asteroid from his dream bubble. It wasn't as bad as anything like that though… But still…

He shut his eyes momentarily trying to rid his mind of the memories, but like always he couldn't stop the images that flashed behind his eyelids. A sick slideshow that was made to torment him, like a horror terror invading his dreams.

He would never forget the look on Gamzee face when he had found his body; impaled, gruesome and gushing blood like nothing else. Would never forget watching Gamzee slide to the ground trying desperately to see if there was still a flicker of life left in his impaled and demolished body that he could somehow save. Never forget the hopeless guttural sound, like a cornered, wounded animal that saw the end coming, that had come from Gamzee as he skittered back after one of his hands had slipped in the pool of his brown blood that pooled out of the open wound in his chest. It was heart wrenching, watching Gamzee's stare down at his hands covered in Brown, his brown, eyes filled with terror and grief before something in Gamzee just…Snapped. Tavros couldn't explain what had happened next, Gamzee was bent over into himself like something inside him had physically snapped. He had just gone so still… before chuckles emanated softly from under Gamzee's breath, turning into raucous laughter that echoed harshly from the metal walls, sounding almost like a harsh bark and honk combined. Turning his head towards Tavros's body, grin all but tearing his face, Gamzee had stood up slowly, disturbingly red eyes slitted and trained on him. Bending down and gingerly touching his cold face in a gesture mocking affection before harshly gripping the head by the horns with two hands and tearing upwards-

"Avros…TAVROS! PUUUUUUUUPA?" Tavros jumped out of his stupor to see Vriska shaking a tanned hand in front of his face, sky blue eyes narrowed in annoyance and yes, just a LITTLE bit of concern.

"Taaaaaaavros? Did you hear a word I said?" when he just stared at her blankly she sighed in exasperation, "God you never listen to a THING I say! I swea-!" she stopped abruptly when she saw the expression on Tavros's face.

"...oh, Was it another game flashback?" Tavros nodded slightly and leaned back in his chair, "Yeah, sorry... Didn't mean to zone out on you or anything..."

Vriska was silent for a few moments, looking like she was about to say something but then closing her mouth-almost a perfect imitation of one of Feferi's cuttlefish glubbing.

"…You do know that I am sorry Tavros? I honestly do regret killing you…and everything else I did." Vriska said turning back to her work as though she had just commented about the weather instead of confessing how bad she felt and how much she had actually MISSED (yes Vriska Serket the spiderbitch admitting to being guilty to something) Tavros and how fucked up she had felt for almost endangering the entire game and the others lives after she had made the decision to go after Jack alone.

Tavros just stared at her for another long moment, what NOW? Now in a shitty earth classroom in Washington with clay on the ceilings Vriska wanted a feelings jam about how she had regretted killing him, talking as though she had broken his laptop or something? Well, many things could be said about Vriska, but subtly was not one of them. Sighing he turned his body towards the spiderbitch he called his morail and punched her shoulder, not entirely hard though!

"Aaaaaahh! TAVROOOOOOOOS! I just got that leg right! You utter bulgemuncher!" Tavros just tilted his head in mock confusion and innocence before bursting out laughing at Vriska's face, Vriska quickly losing her scowl and joining him. The time for confessions and tears had already passed. After the initial shock of waking up alive Vriska had been on him faster than Nepeta could ship two people together, Sky blue tears in her eyes, just staring at him as if he was going to disappear if she blinked, before she had promptly punched him in the gut before hugging him and just apologizing over and over again as those same sky blue tears escaped from her eyes and ran rivers of regret down her face at seeing him alive again. He couldn't harbour any anger for the poor pitiful troll that was in front of him. Vriska, it legitimately seemed, had turned a new leaf, if you didn't count all the shit they'd fucked up in the dream bubbles. Well as much as the spiderbitch could with her snarky attitude but he supposed that's why he was her morail, just that touch of 'rebellious confidence' that he needed.

_"This was what life was supposed to be like" _He thought happily as he looked round at his friends, alive and happy. His smile faded slightly as he glanced back up the table, he hoped that Gamzee was alright though.

He didn't know if he could lose him like that again.

~ O-O ~

**_Oh dear Christ on a cracker what the fuck did I just write? _**

**_Thank you to anyone who stayed around long enough to get to this point! Basically this entire chapter was backstory for most of the characters and why there all on earth and yadda, yadda. So essentially what I just wrote…was an enormous story summery…That didn't explain the story in the slightest …because there's STILL a shitload more explainin' left to still write. Once again, Apologies in advance for dragging it out for an ungodly amount of time. Don't worry; the plot of this story should come out about chapter four if I keep up this word count. Im intending for it to be a Sober! Gamzee…but with a bit of a twist, sorry my lips are sealed for now! Though I promise it will be different from a normal Sober! Gamzee *call it a head cannon of mine*_**

**_R&R not only encouraged, but necessary for my survival. Do _****_NOT_****_ hesitate to give me a verbal beat down._**

**_And with much ado, I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL!_**


	2. Of Morails and Mirgraines

**_PchoooooOoOoOoOoo! Another chapter! I promise this is the last blatant explanation chapter before the shit goes down._**

**_CHAPTER TWO: Of Morails and Migraines._**

Gamzee literally thought his head was about to split open like a melon at any moment from how much that DAMNED headache was FUCKING AROUND with his thinkpan, and the NOISE in the damn room WASN'T HELPING. Turns out that if he wanted his head to stop wanting to self-destruct on itself than he was gonna need something a_ little _stronger than a drug that could take down a fucking Trunk-beast. Because at the moment Sollux's pills hadn't done A MOTHERFUCKING thing about his CURRENT SITUATION.

Argh even his thoughts were fluctuating like his fucking trollian quirk.

Welp, whatever he had just said about the noise in the room before hurting his thinkpan like Equius had just given him a slap upside the head (not that he'd have survive the experience, mind you) he took it back. Oh mirthful MESSIAHS he took it back. Because there was no way in hell that Gamzee was prepared for the undulated noise of the bell ringing for lunch.

Shooting up ramrod straight from the table, Gamzee's face was almost comical in its confused and disoriented state, well at least it was comical until Gamzee was clutching his head as if it wasn't screwed on right and was afraid it would fall apart in his hands. Gritting his teeth until it felt like they were grating each other as he waited for the bells torturous noise to end.

"G-Gamzee?" A quiet voice rang through his thoughts as he realised that the ringing in his ears was no longer the school bell and that he was still clutching his head in a semi foetal position. Opening his eyes a crack he looked up to see the concerned face of a one Tavros motherfucking Nitram.

"Gamzee? A-are you ok? Maybe you should see the nurse,,, Not that you need the help or anything!, but you have been looking a little,,,well a lot,,, sick? Not that trolls can get sick, I don't think? Well they can! But…normally you don't so…" Gamzee smiled as Tavros rambled on, it was nice to know that a motherfucker cared about his sorry ass, but Gamzee couldn't help but feel a twinge of hurt in his chest as Tavros stuttered and stopped uncertainly all the way through his sentences. He hardly ever stuttered nowadays, and only really around strangers or when he was talking to…well him. And even though it was light and barely noticeable when they talked, it hurt that Tavros wasn't comfortable around him. Tavros had never ONCE stuttered when he spoke to Gamzee back in the game (well, if you didn't count the first time they met face to face.) But even then he'd been a pretty chill guy around Gamzee. Of course he faltered a lot, seeming to taste the word on his tongue before speaking, but that was just Tavros...Now it was like Tavros was embarrassed to be around him, what was so different now?

Tavros just…hadn't been the same around him since they'd gotten here. He'd stutter and would excuse himself in a fluster if Gamzee got too close or sometimes Tavros would just stop mid-sentence and gap it.

He didn't know what he was doing wrong. But God, he hoped Tavros wasn't afraid of him; he didn't think he could handle that. He'd been keeping some distance from Tavros since the game had ended but he still tried to reach out every other chance he got, or whenever Tavros was alone with him. But mostly he stayed, firmly and both feet planted, in the pale zone, didn't want to scare a motherfucker away. Or god forbid; hurt him. He was damned and determined to never let anything hurt his friends again, but if he was one of the things that was going to hurt Tavros then... Shaking his head to clear those thoughts he looked up at Tavros whose eyebrows were still furrowed in worry.

"Im all up and motherfucking fine Tavbro!" he lied through a slightly forced toothy smile, "Just a bit of a headaches s'all".

Tavros looked strangely relieved, the tension even falling away from his shoulders some and he gave a slight smile that all up and melted Gamzee's blood pusher, as long as Tavros was there he was content to sink back in his chair with a spaced out grin. "Well it's just good to know you're feeling a bit b-better,,,,,you do know everyone has left right?" well that caught Gamzee's attention, sitting up straight and surveying the room he saw that it was indeed empty.

Well fuck even the teacher had left.

"Well would you look at that! Sorry head was in the motherfuckin' clouds, thanks for waiting for me, woulda slept right through lunch." he lurched unsteadily to his feet hauling his over filled bag (filled with homework that was probably due last week) onto his shoulder as a counter weight to get his balance back.

The walk to the cafeteria was accompanied by Tavros's quiet but steady stream of easy chitchat, Gamzee laughing softly at the appropriate times, but not contributing much to the conversation otherwise. For such a shy troll Tavros, once he'd gotten to know someone, was actually quite gifted in the Gab. Huh, must have come from communicating with animals and such Gamzee thought. Reaching the cafeteria Gamzee ignored the food line completely and made a bee-line straight to their claimed table at the back of the cafeteria near the escape exit, just in case they needed to abscond really fucking speedy like.

Karkat, ALWAYS the optimist it seemed.

It ALSO seemed that Gamzee head was becoming well acquainted like to the wood of the tables, cause' right at this moment, that was the most comfortable motherfucking place to be.

"Keep your head above the water Gamzeeee! Only three more periods to go!" Feferi called from across the table next to Sollux as they finished the last remnants of a human history assignment probably due next period. A projected mumble through his arm was the only response Feferi got as Tavros caught up to Gamzee and sat down. Karkat arrived afterwards with a tray overloaded with food before tossing it down in the middle of the table for the other trolls to gorge themselves. Since none of the trolls ate much of the human food they normally just got a single tray, but by god were they going to overload that tray with the most junk food as possible. Everyone but Gamzee seemed to scramble for their choice piece of greasy goods. The others simply put it down as 'you snooze, you lose' when Gamzee looked up to find everything but his precious faygo gone. It wasn't until Gamzee turned his head to the side did the table finally go quiet.

Ok NO. Gamzee never turned down a free faygo.

EVER.

Through hail, rain, thunderstorms, earthquakes, horror terrors, acid rain or shine. A Gamzee without Faygo was like plugging Terezi's nose with corks soaked in vanilla, pumping her up full of delicious candy red confectionaries and then handing her a handgun and telling her to go bat shit crazy in the middle of a shopping mall. Fucking anarchy would reign; the dead would be rising from the grave, Cats and dogs living together, MASS HYSTERIA.

Slowly the trolls went back to what they were doing, conversations slowly starting up again but a feeling of great disturbance lingered around the table. But Karkat wouldn't just shrug this off, Karkat was too busy staring incredulously at him like he had had just sprouted a tail, wondering what the everlasting fuck was so wrong with Gamzee that he would turn his nose up at a free Faygo.

"Gamzee? Ok clearly you are dying of some strange disease because the Gamzee I know would have lunged for that cool, moist, fucking-fizzy-shit like a dying of thirst sea-dweller that hasn't seen a body of water in years."

"Lay off me Karkat, just not in the mood for the wicked elixir at the moment's s'all." Karkat, looking extremely taken aback, turned to Sollux for answers, baffled as fuck on what to make of this and only getting a shrug from him. Whatever the fuck was up with Gamzee was starting to peak the interests of them all, and not in a good way.

Before Karkat could straight up cram the faygo down Gamzee's throat to remind him of how much the world NEEDED Gamzee to drink that Faygo because he did NOT just waste two dollars fifty on that shit, they were joined by the humans. John sat down next to Karkat, feeling the crackle of agitation in the air and sliding him a peace offering of hot pocket while Jade threw her stuff down next to Tavros, Whining loudly about science papers and overdue homework. Dave tried to fend Terezi off as she tried to rummage through his bag and cheat off his homework (and really, she needed to be fended off. Dave was NOT getting another F on his work because the teacher wouldn't accept saliva soggy paper). Rose greeted Kanaya with a nod and warm smile, complimenting Nepeta on her picture of a feather-beast she was finishing for art before leaning on Kanaya and asking about her day as though they hadn't been texting constantly.

Now, most would think that the humans would be off in their own 'clicks' as it were, but after the game everyone was reluctant to leave the friends they had fought back to back with, hell Gamzee even tolerated Dave's presence while Rose and Kanaya kept their bitching and well-intended eye fucking to a minimum. It would have been easy for the humans to blend into already existing groups already; hell Karkat could even list them now

JOHN: Movie and comic book fanatics.

DAVE: Music or cool kids group.

JADE: Nerdy overly nice (but a little weird, pfft that means fun) girl group.

ROSE: Sophisticated bitches.

But no, they chose to blend with the weird-exchange-student posse.

And fuck if it wasn't the weirdest group in the school, being nicknamed the fucking 'rainbow weirdo convention or the RWC' (honestly Karkat could have thought up a better insult with both his hands tied behind his back and his mouth gagged.) the trolls did blend in yes, but some fucking human had gone and realised how 'multi-coloured' they all were since when they were lined up they formed a fucking rainbow. Apparently Red, Yellow, Indigo, Purple and Magenta weren't fucking normal eye colours even by human standards.

Neither was being Nocturnal, not so much as frowned upon but fucking TEDIOUS, all the trolls having to shift their sleeping patterns to a daily rather than nightly schedule. Didn't stop them from staying awake half the night, but FUCK was getting up in the morning a fucking pain in the neck (literally a pain in the neck, No recupercoons, No sopor slime. Rock hard mattresses and lumpy as fuck pillows from here on out.

At least they were all alive, that was something to be thankful about at least.

Karkat quickly devoured the semi-cold hot pocket in his hand as he grumbled to John about how much more superior troll food was. Glad to be alive yes. Glad that the school was cutting back their budget and now cafeteria food was heated over a flashlight and was essentially made up of ground up newspaper and paste? FUCK NO.

Even Equius wouldn't have drunk the milk.

~!~

The last couple of periods weren't so bad for Gamzee, and by bad, he meant at least they weren't disastrous... ok science could have gone better.

Maths class was quiet, the only disruption was when he wasn't paying attention and got papped not-quite-so-softly on the head with a meter long ruler and a screeching maths teacher yelling at him to "GET YOUR HEAD OUT OF THE CLOUDS YOUNG MAN AND PAY ATTENTION!" followed by a ten minute lecture on discipline and focus, and how everyone in the class would have to complete another page of questions from their textbooks. Drawing groans from everyone in the class and a few scrunched paper balls sent flying his way.

In Science his hand slipped while mixing chemicals over a Bunsen burner with Vriska and Karkat for a practical. Resulting in a small, but surprisingly loud, explosion, a blackened and confused Gamzee, a screeching Karkat and a hysterically laughing Vriska.

Spanish class was a fucking struggle, but a motherfucking breeze for Tavros. How did he all up and remember so many fucking words? Not stumbling over syllables and pronunciation like he did when he was nervous in English? Hell, he was speaking better Spanish than fucking Alternian! Though none of them had spoken in their mother tongue for sweeps it seemed. Last time Gamzee spoke Alternian was with Goat dad, long before the game had started.

It was certainly a god send when the final bell finally, FINALLY, rang. Sidling out his seat and descending the stairs with Tavros, before Tavros was yanked away by Jade and Feferi as his foot hit the bottom step, both squealing some shit about dissecting a live frog from last period and saving theirs. Jade showing Tavros the large frog she had hidden in her sleeve. A very hot and thirsty frog yes, but a frog that was eternally grateful and owed its life to the two girls.

It took a while to reach the front of the school through the masses, but by the time he was at the rusted front gates, Gamzee had decided to walk rather than spend the extra $5 for a bus ticket, which he'd probably have to stand up in any way. The silence was like a soothing balm to his thinkpan even though Earths sun was still just that bit too bright for his taste at the moment. But by dodging into some alleyways for shortcuts he managed to stay mostly in the shade. Finally making it to their makeshift home after coming to ANOTHER dead end and having to jump a fence were he managed to rip his shirt in the process, with MUCH extensive cursing on his part.

Their 'makeshift' home was the apartment building they had built at the very edge of town, or you could say right smack dab in the middle of 'where the fuck are we?" and "who the fuck cares". With the remaining grist they had they had managed to alchemise enough panels and walls for the structure of a whopping eight storied (much to  
Vriska's delight) high building. Plenty wide enough for two snug apartments on each level for two 'hives' to be placed and one big flat at the top which the kids shared. The trolls still enjoyed their privacy and hey, when you've got about 6 billion grist to build with who was going to motherfucking say what you alchemised… until you run down that Grist level to 40,000 and can't alchemise anything worthwhile other than small items and failed apple prototypes.

Ironically, the apartments were housed in the order of the Hemospectrum, with the human kids right up top just in case John felt like getting his breeze on and didn't want to get funny looks from the neighbours(?) from taking a running ground take-off.

Karkat had ended up on the bottom floor, being in a game were battles were necessary everyone had seen Karkat bleed at least once. Not that anyone cared but it didn't mean Karkat was any less paranoid of his privacy and had insisted that he was on the one floor without a neighbour. Lucky Karkat though, he got to house everyone's loose crap seeing as his apartment was the only one with a basement. The basement was where they kept all their laundry (that some poor asshole got the job of cleaning every week) and any other old keepsake that they didn't have room for, though considering the little precious possessions they had it was mainly just a laundry room. Bottom floor was also a hallway that led into a large kitchen and computer/fucking messy living room/dining room were Sollux liked to set up all their internet cables and other appliances.

Along the long hall including Karkat's and the living room there were two other doors, one leading to the staircases and the Elevator. There were stairs throughout the building of course, but teleportation pads had been stealthily placed into the elevator because A. half of the trolls were too lazy to walk up the bizillion steps to their homes and B. they didn't actually have a tool in suburb to MAKE an elevator (why else would John have made so many platforms and stairs to the first portal in the beginning of the game if he could just zoom up? Now that would have been just silly) and finally C. Tavros was still scared shitless of those damned stairs. Walking past Karkat's yet to be occupied room he waited for the elevator doors to open before punching the button with his sign on it and stepping onto the transportaliser.

Stepping out at his floor and all but collapsing on his sofa once he'd managed to wrangle the keys out of his pocket and get the stubborn fuckers into the damn key hole to open his fucking door. Groaning into the sofa pillow he longed for a Sopor pie, not so much to quieten the now absent voices but for the comforting buzz. But no, since the game ended he had been weaned off the stuff (PROPERLY this time) so as not to have another repeat of the asteroid rampage.

Twisting the septum in his ear his human form disappeared to free his horns and let it all 'hang loose'. Without meaning to as soon as his head hit the couch pillow again he proceeded to pass right the fuck out for what had to be the third time today, Or at least, partway to passing the fuck out. The sound of knocking at his door wouldn't allow that, oh no never.

Growling softly under his breath he threw the cushion that had been under his head at the door as an acknowledgment that whoever the fuck was at the door had permission to speak to him now before he either got his z's on or went down to the kitchens and got his eat on. It surprised him slightly when he saw John peek his head around his door.

"Gamzee! So there's where you ran off too! Wow Karkat was right you DON'T look very well-" Gamzee cut him off with an raised eyebrow and a glare, urging him to get to the point. John was a nice guy and all, but let him get his ramble on and he was down the rabbit hole to wonderland and then maybe to Mordor and back knowing the way his brain worked.

"OH! Yeah sorry. Hey Dave's throwing a party up at our place tomorrow to celebrate that new turntable he ordered, he asked me to see if everyone was up for it. You in?" Gamzee rubbed a hand against his face to try and wake some sense back into his foggy thinkpan before answering.

"I don't know motherfucker…thought I might just stay in this Saturday. Get my sleep on y'know?" looking up and seeing Johns disappointed face and pouted lip he paused, weighing up the options of either just sucking it up and going to this stupid fucking party (which was normally just all of them either watching movies or Sollux breaking out the fucking laser show and having a full out rave.) or dealing with a pouty John which could only led to a bucket of water over his head or a rush of air flipping his shirt over his head.

"…Well, it's not like I'm going to be able to sleep with all you fuckers jumping up and down and generally making a shitload of noise now am I? Fine, sign me up, or whatever."

"Great! That just means that I have to ask Karkat and then everyone's coming!" John beamed, lifting slightly off the ground in excitement. "This'll be our first ever house party! Kinda like a christening of the house!" John's head quickly vanished from his sight and the sound of him zooming down the hall, probably still a couple of inches from the ground, to find Karkat could be heard.

'_He left the motherfucking door open again'_ Gamzee noted with some annoyance.

~!~

Tavros had just exited Equius's room when he had to swerve out of the way and flatten himself against a wall so he wouldn't collide with a flying John. With a shouted apology over his shoulder he flew around the corner and down the stairs, huh seems like the damn things DID have a use after all. Except for sledding of course, but there was NO WAY he was letting Vriska and Terezi convince him to do that ever again. Looking around to where John had come from he saw that Gamzee's door was open. Curious, he wobbled over on his newly upgraded legs to see if Gamzee was home.

No, unfortunately Tavros hadn't gotten his real legs back once the game had ended and sent then to earth. It would seem that they had been converted back to their last 'save point' as it were, just after all their dream selves had been slaughtered by Bec Noir. Which meant that Tavros had mechanical legs, Vriska was missing her eye and had a mechanical arm installed, Terezi was still blind and Sollux still had an unfortunate lisp. In fact, he'd just been in with Equius to have a system check-up before almost being bowled over by John. Peering around the door he called out "Gamzee? You home?,,,,Your door was open?"

The last thing Tavros expected was for a door to slam shut in his face and knock him back, falling flat on his ass Tavros with a loud yelp as the recently sore flesh connecting the metal to his thigh was jarred painfully. Tavros groaned slightly rubbing his nose, figured that it was time he worked on calling out louder so that people actually knew he was there. Or maybe, to just stay in his corner where, OW, his nose wasn't being assaulted by marauding doors.

"Shit! Sorry Tav didn't see you there! I thought I'd heard someone, but I figured it was just John coming back or some shit." Gamzee apologised hastily, helping Tavros back to his feet after some hovering about not knowing whether to apologise some more or see if his nose was hurt any more than the red spot quickly blooming on the tip.

Gamzee's grip was firm, even if his body temperature was a bit cooler than his own, though it was welcome on his hot skin. Tavros blushed furiously at the closeness they shared for a split second before Gamzee stepped back and dusting his back off, causing Tavros to blush even harder than he was before, especially when Gamzee's hand brushed against something that DEFINITELY wasn't his back. Tavros couldn't deny that he had felt something redder than Morailiance with Gamzee before (oh who was he kidding, he was redder for Gamzee than Karkat's blood) but he had never acted upon it before and probably never would, cause let's face it, who would want to fill a red quadrant with an awkward stuttering Taurus? Gamzee could do better and he knew it, but he couldn't help but _want _Gamzee. But it wasn't like his confidence had exactly skyrocketed since his death, even with Vriska's help.

"Shit, I banged your nose pretty bad on the door there. Could you tilt your head up for a motherfucker to have a look? Looks like it might be all up and bleeding." Gamzee's voice interjected his thought train before he jumped slightly upon realising how close Gamzee had suddenly gotten.

"Y-yeah, ok... thanks." Tavros kicked himself internally as he lifted his head for Gamzee to take a look, what the hell?! '_THANKS?! oh yes, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SLAMMING A DOOR IN MY FACE GAMZEE, please make sure you slam it on my ass next time and make sure it's the door to the stairwell too.' _

ARGH! It wasn't fair! Why couldn't he just _talk _to Gamzee anymore without stuttering like a dork?!

Why couldn't he talk to him without his knees going weak? Why couldn't he be around Gamzee without his mouth going dry and-_Ohshit-Gamzee is mere INCHES away from his mouth, o-oh god._

This was just too much for the Taurus' blood pusher. Skittering away from Gamzee with a stuttered attempt at an apology , ears lowered and eyes huge, Tavros tried to somehow get a comprehensible apology out before he gave up and winged it. All but running away from a very confused Gamzee. Skidding around the corner to a stop at the transportaliser, smacking the button with his symbol on it and absconding right the fuck out of there. Standing in the elevator he smacked his head against the door and groaned before he was transportalised to his floor. Oh wait, not before he died of embarrassment at how well he'd handled THAT situation. '_So much for standing your ground you pitiless fuck'_ he scolded himself and smacked his head against the door again.

~!~

Gamzee stared blankly at the corner Tavros had disappeared around. Hurt twinged bitterly in his chest and his head pounding and hurting just that agonising bit harder.

What the fuck had he done? One second he was helping Tavros up and making sure he was alright, and the next Tavros was tearing away and running like a frightened antler-beast spooked by leaves. Oh God, maybe Tavros WAS frightened of him? It wasn't like Gamzee didn't think he _didn't_ deserve to be treated like that after what he'd done, (he'd been a bit surprised that all the trolls and humans still treated him the same, though Equius tended to be much more protected of Nepeta when he was around. And he rightfully should be) but fuck it still hurt to think that Tavros was legitimately afraid of him, or uncomfortable… Or embarrassed or ashamed or anything ELSE that made Tavros unhappy. Especially when all Gamzee wanted to do was hold the adorabull motherfucker and kiss the stutters away.

Snapping out of his stupor when he realising that he was still staring at the corner Tavros had disappeared around he turned back to his apartment and closed the door behind him gently with a sigh, he wasn't so hungry anymore. More nauseous than anything after that encounter.

Motherfucking feelings man, how do they work?

~ O-O ~

**_*Hahaaaaaa, im a stupid bitch who doesn't know how to explain shit in her story so I'll explain this here. SOO technically this is an altered *massacred* AU so HERP DERP TAVROS ONLY HAS METAL LEGS ATTACHED UP TO HIS UPPER-MID THIGH! (Seeing as logic is somewhat included in this *HOW?!*, Tavros was amputated about his upper mid-thigh so he still has the necessities for 'waste disposal' and *AHEM*. I'd be up to thinking that there is also a nerve detector attached to his spine so he can all up and control his legs AND stay balanced without flopping about) So he has feeling in his nook and bulge and whatnot. Can't be up and having the secret sexy times without the- _**_*and then the shitty author was fly tackled before going into further detail*_

**_Oh god how to I characterise characters without just throwing my laptop in the air and shouting "Fuck it. Tavros you stutter, Gamzee you do some clowny shit and John,,,, OH GOD JOHN WHAT DID I DO TO YOU? JOHN. IM SORRY."_**

**_Again blatant explanation chapter on where they live and other pointless shit that you probably don't want to read. I know y'all came here to read some delicious PBJ but don't worry! The end (or beginning I should say) is near! We're getting to the plot soon! Any suggestions or reviews would help me like nothing else! also. FIVE FOLLOWERS IN A DAY? I-i cant- my FeEeEeeeels *gasp, wheeze, DIES* _**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL! _**


	3. Everyone have a Sweet Rave Party

**OH! What's this! Another chapter! Yea not very exciting :/ but I love y'all so I shall shower you in my shitty writing! **

**HOLY SHIT! THE PLOT! When did that happen?! No more blatant explanations! Good 'cause my fingers and word have started to rebel against writing them. All that comes out if I try to explain anything is 'GET ON WITH IT GIRL! They don't care about what colour the freaking curtains are! BACK THE REASON YOU STARTED WRITING THIS THING!" ok now that that's off my chest, or rather that rant is done with, let us begin!**

**Chapter 3: Everyone have a sweet rave party.**

Gamzee was awoken the next morning by the beeping of his alarm clock.

Obnoxious motherfucking- didn't it know that it was fucking Saturday!? Day of lounging and absolute relax-fucking-sation?! Groaning and flipping over slowly like a beached whale he smacked around his drawer top trying to found the damn thing before hitting it and what he could only assumed was the right button since it shut up.

Either that or it fell to the ground and probably broke. Fuck, that would probably make it, what? The fifth clock this month to meet its untimely demise?

Rolling back onto his back he groaned and rubbed his face, trying to clear the fuzziness of sleep from his eyes and mentally steeled himself before removing his hands and opening his eyes a crack. He was starting to get used to waking up and feeling the light from the sun that was just peeping over the horizon assault his retinas and mess up his thinkpan.

Gamzee was more than surprised when the expected pound of pain to the head didn't come at all. Hell, he wasn't feeling any pain at all! Opening his eyes completely he wondered on this new found miracle of a clear head (that WASN'T filled with a voice telling him to kill all his friends thank you very much) and soon found a wide grin had subconsciously pasted itself onto his face.

He was feeling…good?

Or maybe even fantastic? Fantastic would be going a bit too far because although the headache was gone it had been replaced by a new pain in his joints and along his back. But he passed it off as just sleeping in a funky angle like he usually managed to manoeuvre himself into. Apologetically patting his alarm clock (that was SOMEHOW still intact after being almost crushed by his giant hand) as he rolled out of bed and all but cartwheeled down the hall towards his small _(cosy) _bathroom. He smiled to himself, '_Today, is gonna be a bitchtits day' _

He just knew it.

Showering and slapping on his face paint with steady hands for the first time in a week he all but skipped down to the transportaliser to the group's kitchen.

Rounding the corner of the kitchen and ducking under the just-a-tad-too-short-for-his-height archway leading to the food storage unit he walked into the conjoined room that was linked to the living room. Glancing over to where John was sitting at the counter with a cup of coffee (how he drank the vile black liquid he would never know) and sipping groggily next to Jade, who was eating some VERY burnt toast. They weren't the only ones up this early either, Terezi was in the living room portion of the block and kept licking along a yellow cable that led to the back of the TV just to piss Sollux off, who had to keep lifting her up and depositing her on the couch with his psionics, which took practised skill considering he did it without even looking up from his work. Tavros was in the kitchen, buttering some toast in his dressing gown and grimacing when he got some of the peanut butter on his hand, sucking it off his thumb with a mumbled curse.

"Morning motherfuckers! Aint it just a fine bitchtits morning?" walking with a spring in his step into the kitchen, Gamzee decided to advertise his new found joy by sweeping Tavros off his feet, _Literally_.

With a devious grin, Gamzee snatching Tavros away from the counter. With a yelp from Tavros, his peanut butter covered knife dropping onto the floor with a loud clatter, he was yanked away from the counter and twirled around in a flamenco style spin that had Tavros's head spinning before he was being dropped close to the ground with Gamzee catching him at the last second. Tavros was trying hard not to faint (or throw up) from the sudden outburst of joy from the Juggalo or the spinning room around him.

Pulling Tavros up with a laugh and a honk to his nose, Gamzee strolled over to the food storage unit and had already pulled out some cereal and a plate before he'd stopped long enough to noticing that the entire room had turned towards him. Surprised faces and dropped jaws meeting him, coffee dripping on the floor from were John froze mid sip just to stare.

"What?" Gamzee asked pouring milk over his lucky charms and sitting on a counter stool.

"You seem cheerful this morning, Gamzee" Jade responded, first to break the silence that surrounded the room tighter than Karkat in a blanket during a romcoms marathon. "We going to assume you beat whatever it was eating you over the last couple of days then, hmm?" she said with a raised eyebrow and a trademarked Jade smile.

"Aw you better believe it sister! Woke up this morning a new motherfucking troll!" Gamzee smiled around the spoonful of lucky charms shoved in his mouth.

Everyone in the room visible relaxed to see that, Gamzee hadn't gone insane (well not INSANE insane, just odder than he normally was and hadn't just woken up this morning and convinced himself he was a ballroom dancer with the move he pulled on Tavros in the kitchen) and was just being good old Gamzee. Tavros on the other hand, was still standing frozen in the kitchen. As though he was trying to remember how to unlock his arms from where he had gripped the counter after being pulled back up and stop blushing like there was a heatwave going on in the Washington state even thought it was the end of Autumn. He only snapped out of his dreamy but embarrassed stupor when he finally noticed Gamzee waving a hand in front of his face, an exression concerned painted on Gamzee's face along with the newly neat smile.

"Tavros? Brother? Earth to Tavbro! Y'all right? Didn't knock you senseless with that move did I?" Tavros snapped out of it and ducking down as quickly as he could without just dropping to the floor (which was quite possible at the moment with how much his legs were shaking and threatened to drop him on his ass) to pick up the messy knife from the floor in an effort to hide his increasing blush. He turned his back to the rest of them and resumed making his sandwich, searching for something, ANYTHING to say that would switch the attention of the room to someone else.

"S-So what's this that's happening at your place tonight, John? Dave turned up at my place, saying something about, 'getting ready for the most ironic welcoming of an inanimate object into our lives'?" Tavros called out to John who had just closed his jaw long enough to answer.

"Oh yeah! Dave's new turntables turned up yesterday and he spent the entire night last night rigging that thing up!" Sollux snorting from where he was sitting at his computer, he would have had that shit up in less than an hour if the arrogant bastard had let him. And he wouldn't even let him modify it, not even just a TINY bit.

"Dave said he wanted to test it out soon so I thought we could make it a party! You know, since the last one we had was back in the game." John said, cleaning up the coffee spill from his shirt and the counter.

"Well it's something to do on a Saturday, seeing as all you fuckers refuse to go out into the real world and socialise with the inhabitants that we like to call 'people' on this here planet." Dave retorted to no one in particular and everyone as he sauntered into the living room, still in his sunglasses despite the fact that it was morning and he still hadn't even gotten dressed yet, unless you counted loose boxers as dressed.

"Well good morning to you too, motherfucker" mumbled Gamzee through a (another) particularly large mouthful of cereal, causing Dave to look over but still maintain his poker face even though Gamzee was talking to him of his own free will and hadn't snapped at him to stop breathing so loud like a girl on her rag yet.

"Well shit, the Clown came through and pulled the stick out of his ass and joined the world of the living. I take it your back to your 'miraculous' health then?" Dave stated in the coolest tone possible so that it couldn't really be taken as an insult or a compliment, or god forbid curiosity. Yeah, just a passing comment.

"Well when you say it like that I'd say so, yeah." Gamzee said not rising to the bait and simply going back to devour his cereal.

Ok, that got Striders mind gears going and his poker face to break for a second. But he simply huffed and launched himself onto the couch turning on some 'ironic' show about ponies with tramp stamps and told Terezi to lick the screen as a 'sonic rainboom' engulfed the screen.

_(Soon after the event, Terezi was banned from sitting less than three feet away from the television while it was on)._

~!~

Karkat was the next of the trolls to wake up and brave the sunlight. All but crawling into the living room he struggling to reach a cup just out of reach on the top shelf. Cursing profusely at the offending shelf for being so fucking high, he almost contemplated going the fuck back to bed. Someone had put his mug on the highest shelf in the cupboard AGAIN. Probably Vriska and John on another pranking rampage.

Karkat was so preoccupied with leaping towards the unreachable cup that he didn't notice Gamzee slither forward and go to get it himself. Karkat jumped almost 6 feet into the air (which would have put him in range of the shelf) when Gamzee reached up behind him and grabbed his mug with ease before Karkat could break anything or fall off another chair again trying to reach it. Twisting around, not noticing that it was Gamzee and on the verge of flipping his shit at this point he hardly noticed the fact that it was, once again, GAMZEE and he was UP at seven in the MORNING.

Eyes narrowed and a small snarl on his lips Karkat snatched the cup out of Gamzee's hands with a "thanks." that sounded more like a "fuck you." being throw over his shoulder as he storming over to the coffee maker, glaring at the coffee machine and pressing random buttons till coffee decided to stop being such an asshole and fucking come out.

And OH. Let it be known that he, Karkat Vantas have now so forth vowed to find out who kept putting his fucking mug on the highest shelf. And they had better learn how to abscond pretty fucking speedy like before he took his sickles out and shoved it right up thei-

Wait.

Karkat swivelling around fast enough to almost backhand John squarely in the face with a flailing arm. A John, who had STUPIDY decided NOW was the perfect time to rinse out his cup since an obviously pissy Karkat had occupied the area. Almost dropping the mug in his hands in realisation, GAMZEE WAS UP. In the MORNING. Barely after the SUN had risen. And WASN'T writhing around on the ground and rolling to wherever it was the stupid fucker needed to go?!

"Gamzee?! The everlasting fuck? Go back to your fucking hiv- apartme- house and get back in bed before you blow whatever's left of your fucking thinkpan out the window!" Gamzee just sat down again with his head on the counter, a shit eating grin evidently plastered onto his face again "Naw man, slept enough the past couple days, I think them pills finally kicked in and started working their magic, Im all up and feeling fine!"

Karkat scowled but turned his attention back to his coffee, tipping a stupid amount of cream into it.

"Well whoever you are and whatever you've done with Gamzee, tell the stupid fucker that Saturdays were designed to sleep. Not getting up early and fucking around with Karkat BY PUTTING HIS SHIT OUT OF REACH." the last part was yelled in the general direction of John who decided NOW was also a good time to escape the closed in space, probably of to plan something to one up Vriska for putting Jelly in his slippers last week.

"The lot of you act like fucking grubs I swear to god." Karkat swore sitting down on the couch next to Terezi, pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes scrunched up and trying to stop Terezi from bumping into him long enough to sip his drink. "You can all thank me later for making sure that the lot of you don't get your asses handed to you every day by your own sheer stupidity."

~!~

The rest of the day was spent in either preparation for the 'fucking best rave you'll ever go too' or overdue work and assignments to be done so the rest of the weekend could be spent messing around and doing fuck all else with a side of sleep in. At least, that's what it consisted for the rest of the group. Vriska, Tavros, Terezi, Equius and Nepeta however, were currently at the shops on a _'buy the shit on the list, don't kill yourselves, for the love of GOD don't break anything and fucking remember to turn your fucking bands on this time!' _mission. Bit of a stupid choice of trolls for that one on Karkat's part of course, but everyone else was either cleaning (pretty shitely seeing as the building was occupied by teenagers who couldn't give the slightest of fucks if the dust bunnies started to move around by the sheer power of their minds.) or doing some other form of work.

The Wal-Mart expedition mostly consisted of Equius lifted Nepeta up to the tallest shelves to grab the freshest items and some riding of the empty trolley cart with Nepeta and Tavros in the cart yelling and cheering. Terezi sat precariously on the front end, sniffing their way and warning Vriska when someone was in danger of being run over. Vriska pushing and riding the back wheels would always turn at the last second when Terezi shouted "PEDESTRIAN HO!", swerving skilfully away from the shocked person having ALLLLLLLL the skill of course! Until luck ran out that is. And the following catastrophe had them to screeching to a halt before they crashed into a stack of premade soup cans (Honestly?! Why would canned-soup items be piled up so hazardously?!) Equius, who had been running after the cart trying to catch up, simply picked Nepeta out of the cart, ignoring her squeal that he was "No fun!" and carried her over his shoulder to stop her from getting back into the trolley of death. Though despite that, they got all their items from the Wal-Mart in almost record time and shit got done. (Vriska: "IN RECORD TIIIIIIIIME!")

Terezi made sure the fruit and other products that Tavros grabbed were fresh, or if they were being scammed on taste for any bagged produce. She even went as far as to tell off the butcher on prices when she caught a whiff of how 'fresh' his meat was and didn't hesitating on calling him up on it either.

"Your sausages are neither fresh nor cheap, Sir! In fact, I can hardly smell any meat in your products! This is a direct breach of not only your duty, but the law! What do you think, Officer Vriska?" Vriska thought on that a moment, seeming to ponder something as they both played the 'G00D C0P, B4D C0P' routine, before stating quite loudly, playing along with Terezi, that these prices were quite outrageous and of course daylight robbery as she should know, having been a thief too. (A thief of light but a thief none the less.)

Needless to say they got a great bargain on the two kilos of sausage and other meats that day. And also helped the world in its fight for meaty justice.

Tavros had to convince Nepeta away from the fish monger after several attempts on her part to lick some of the raw fish, and he didn't even want to go into when she had stuck her face into a fish tank at the pet store and almost made off with a rare and rather exotic fish.

"But Tavroooooos! Efurry one else gets to pick something! It's not fair!" she pouted, crossing her arms as Tavros dragged her away.

"Yes, ok that's true, but it's not good to eat the fish raw! And ah, I don't think those fish are for eating... Don't give me that look…Normal humans don't eat raw fish! At least… not a FULL raw fish in public! And they CERTAINLY don't try and make off with a fish in their mouth!"

Nepeta still seemed miffed that everyone else got to get something they wanted but she couldn't even get a stinking fish she could have caught in five minutes but she wasn't even allowed to catch even when they were just swimming there taunting her in a glass box! Refusing to move till he explained WHY she couldn't just buy a fish and eat it like she'd seen many other people eating food while they walked. Sighing Tavros saw only one way out of this.

"Hey, if you're that dead set on getting fish why don't we grab some Sushi? I'm sure Karkat wouldn't mind TOO much…." THAT brightened her mood in less than two seconds flat.

"REALLY! Thanks Tavros!" handing her ten dollars she bolted off, grabbing Equius as she went, towards the food parlour.

Nothing else went terribly wrong after that, except after they passed the gardening shop and had spotted a bucket sale.

Buckets. Buckets everywere.

Buckets old end new, Buckets piled on top of buckets and almost stacked to the roof. Buckets in all different colours and sizes, buy one get two free!

_'Perfect for all your storage needs!'_

_'Handles come with a variety of ribbed handles for extra grip.'_

_'HOLDS UP TO THREE LITRES!'_

Well.

Equius almost considered buying one, seeing as he was sweating so hard he did want the floor to get any wetter. Tavros actually fainted for a second before Nepeta caught him and slapped him back to the world of the living and Vriska had haul Terezi back when she tried to pick one up and 'see' what it was that was making Equius sweat so much.

It didn't take very long after that to account for the rest of what was on the list (and a few other items that were definitely NOT on the list. H3H3H3) including some cherry suckers, leftover spider Halloween candy, peanut-buttercups, an overly large tasting platter of sushi, full cream milk and some chamomile tea (hey, who was to say Equius DIDN'T enjoy his tea party's with Nepeta?)

Walking home, each of them carrying at least four bags, except maybe for Nepeta despite her protests to Equius.

"Nonsense Nepeta, you could not carry all this heavy merchandise home without getting tired. Stop being silly and give me back that bag! Fine carry it then. But you will be tired later and we will not be able to role play!" Arriving home with a cartload of stuff they suddenly felt quite bashful under the twitching eye of Karkat after he had seen how much they had gotten.

"THE FUCK IS THIS?! Terezi Vriska and Nepeta I can understand but you two have no excuse for this shit! We already HAVE at least ten cartons of milk, Equius! And stop sweating I just cleaned this damn floor! Fuck, is that a Sushi platter?! In what doomed paradox did your minds conjure up the idea that it was ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL that we would need a fucking sushi pla- you know what, never mind just give me my damn change…..YOU SPENT ALL OF IT?! I GAVE YOU 300 HUMAN BOONBUCKS!"

**- Terezi, Vriska, Tavros, Nepeta, Equius.** **ABSCOND!**

~!~

By the time night rolled around all the trolls were getting twitchy from non-activity. Even the normally docile Kanaya was feeling the strain. At some point she had pricked herself for the thousandth time that night with a needle she was sewing with from the extra jitters and then almost cut her bedroom floor in two when she went at the offending needle with her lipstick chainsaw because well, she was bored and there was nothing else to do. Plus it was a dodgy needle to begin with. It didn't help that on top of that their night instincts were starting to kick in.

The varying phases of the moon seemed to rile them up as well and right at this moment, the moon was full and bright, gravitational pull on the tides also releasing hormones into their bloodstreams and getting the trolls worked up. One thing was for sure, everyone was pretty much looking for any excuse to cause some mayhem.

Maybe that was the one problem with Earth? Alternia's moons had been constant in their pressure, which also meant that there were only ever large waves when glub mum would move in the depths or a huge storm was brewing on the planet. Which was possibly why the trolls where so reluctant to set FOOT on any damn beach in the vicinity when they saw the waves. The trolls also found that certain hormones were triggered during the certain phases of the moon because the changing pressures caused some weird shit to go down in their thinkpans, maybe it was the pressure of the moon causing the hormones to block off but continue to build up and then released when the pressure was right? Though it wasn't like anyone particularly cared. It wasn't dangerous or anything, only certain chemicals in the brain were triggered like adrenaline, and the only thing that annoyed any of them was that the trolls where always a little sluggish in the mornings when there was a new moon, almost like reptiles that hadn't soaked in the sun's rays. Though they could still function normally and if it came to fight, you bet your sweet ass the only way they were going down was kicking and screaming.

One thing for sure though, things were going to get pretty fucking hectic when 'pailing season' rocked around…

Did that even apply on Earth?

The first full moon since they had arrived applied apparently.

~!~

As the early evening slowly wore on to night, Dave FINALLY finished hooking up the last of the cables to his new turntables after grudgingly asking Sollux for help. After Aradia and Rose had finished buying enough cups to stock them the rest of their lives after the shopping team forgot (_*ahem*_ didn't have enough money) to buy them and after the final adjustments Dave got all the tracks onto the system hard drive they proceeded to have the 'best rave of the universe'.

When Aradia came in soon after and broke out the 'party punch' both trolls and humans alike were beginning to get slightly 'intoxicated'…or if you were to use Roxy's slang 'COMPLETELLY off yur titz gurl.'

It started with simply trying to outdo each other on the dance floor, which was pretty much an unspectacular free space in the cluttered mess, before it became a full out rave. Dave taking over at the DJ booth and free styling to the music thumping in his blood and the rhyme in his chest. Terezi, it would seem, was a pretty good dancer for a blind chick, as long as someone stopped her from running into the table or getting tangled in the wires littering the ground. (not that she would, seeing as Sollux had put in a rainbow array of the things so that she wouldn't trip over the things in confusion of streamers or something.)

And although no one was a 'bad' dancer, seeing as everyone was just having fun flailing about at times, no one was ever going to admit that they didn't fuck up and NOT do it on purpose, claiming they were 'busting a move' which may or may not have been a success. Even Karkat at one point had gotten into it. But soon, most of them were a tad too tipsy to dance, let alone 'bust a move'. Most everyone ended up occupying the same couch or in Johns case, the ceiling, and just hanging out like they used to on the asteroid before the shit went down. Only this time, everyone was alive, sane, the humans were there and they were safe on earth.

Turns out that the difference just made it better than before.

~!~

**_*This chapter may spontaneously switch perspectives for a while, but it shouldn't make the story any _****harder****_ to read hopefully. Sorry for breaking writing style for this next part*_**

Tavros was _'oh man, walking unsteadily over here! But I can still walk! see!'_ drunk when he wandered down the hall to find the human kids bathroom. He was on a quest to find a sink where he could wash off the cake on his face after Vriska had tried and failed to get him to taste the cake she had baked for the occasion earlier with Jade (cooking while drunk may NOT have been the best idea but hell the building was still standing so what was the harm? Apart from the cake that was splattered against the wall from when John had swept it across the room with a gust of air when Jade had pinned him down trying to get him to sample one of the batter witches delicacies.)

At this stage someone could have come up to him and handed him a bucket with frills on it and a bow, telling him to fill it up with anything and whatever he wanted and he would just smile and giggle about it. Probably do it too, then set it up as a prank for John. He would probably end up waking up the next day with a blush the colour of deepest brown, where it would stay like that the rest of his life, but fuck right now he could care! Rufio would be proud of dis lil pimp that was Tavros right now. Being a troll had some perks after all, and one of them being complete aversion to memory loss due to alcohol poisoning.

Tavros wobbled down the hallway, almost knocking into Gamzee who had just come back to the party from taking Karkat back to his hive after he'd consumed twice his body weight in 'Packa' punch'. Gamzee it seemed was immune to the powers of Alcohol because he didn't look the slightest bit drunk.

Though he did look strangely twitchy.

"Whoa, motherfucker, where you all up and going? The party's THAT way last time I looked" Gamzee said with a smile.

Well, Tavros would be lying right now if he didn't say that he wanted Gamzee to stop smiling. AND it would also be lying to say that he wanted to stop that smiling with a kiss. Even in Tavros's muddled thinkpan he didn't think it would be a good tactic to just lurch forward into a kiss, too much of a risk head-butting Gamzee or missing entirely and ending up on the floor with his rump in the air. Instead, Tavros opted for the 'eww, no im covered in cake and it's sticky!' strategy,.

Tavros laughed, opting with plan E.N.I.C.I.C.A.I.S. (this is stupid)

"I know which way the party is, since I WAS just recently part of it, but I got covered in cake, Stop laughing Gamzee! It's really sticky! And I was just on my way to find the bathroom, care to help a fellow troll out?" It was at this point that Tavros noticed that A. his Stutter was non-existent (to do list: get drunk more often) and B. how tacky that sounded, but to hell with it. He was feeling buzzed, happy and unable to blush like a maidenly virgin every five minutes. And it didn't help how he was almost laughing at the incredulous face Gamzee was making.

He did giggle a bit though.

Gamzee was almost shocked, not only was Tavros NOT stuttering near him in the least, it was almost like he was blatantly flirting.

"Well seeing as you can barely walk at the moment, I think I'll take you up on that offer, don't want you getting lost down this here hallway" Gamzee said with another smile, honestly too confused to do much else, except for maybe almost jumping out of his skin when Tavros fell forward and latched onto his waist. 

_'Motherfuckers so warm… No! No taking advantage of bro's when there stumbling! Be a Gentletroll for once, Godamnit, get your shit together and your head out of the pail!' _Gamzee cussed internally and tried not to lean into the touch.

Tavros frowned slightly at Gamzee's discomfort but shrugged it off, allowing Gamzee to drag him down the hallway to the bathroom were he proceeded to unlatch himself from Gamzee and nearly face plant onto the counter before remembering how to make his traitorous legs cooperate. Reaching around for the tap while he was struggling to find the coordination to stand straight and turn the tap on at the same time without the world spinning. Gamzee sniggered at Tavros lack of co-ordination as he grabbed a towel and threw it at Tavros when the tap refused to run. Rubbing his face with the slightly damp towel (*shudder* he didn't even want to KNOW why it was still damp and funky smelling. Didn't humans know how to hang things up?) Tavros leaned away from the counter and rubbed till the job was done and the cake was gone, void of his face, no longer to annoy him by being sticky.

looking up at Gamzee, patiently standing there after a moment, andthrowing the towel in the hamper to get rid of the horrible thing, Tavros beamed and made for the door, determined to rub against Gamzee on the way out and show him how well he could walk the length of the hallway straight. He tried not to feel too sad when Gamzee moved right out of his rub-zone when he was only a couple of centimetres away from the door before brightening when Gamzee held an arm out and stopped him.

"You missed a bit" Gamzee stated, reaching out but then seemingly deciding against it and going to get the towel out of the hamper again even as Tavros stood near the door with his eye fairly twitching with frustration.

Tavros couldn't stand it, Gamzee was- Why didn't he- GAH! It was just downright INFURIATING sometimes! He wasn't angry at Gamzee but…Why was Gamzee so hesitant to touch him? Why didn't he just reach out and wipe it off with his finger? Or hell with his lips? (Anything just as long as it wasn't that TOWEL again.) It wasn't like Tavros was the most outward troll when it came to feelings or affection, but hell was he REALLY that repugnant?! Sure he stuttered and was awkward as fuck even though he tried so hard not to…ok maybe it was partly his fault for acting so…weird around Gamzee.

But it wasn't like Gamzee had never dropped hints of liking him before and there was no reason to act like he would shatter if he TALKED to him!

Now that he thought about it, he was a little angry! Gamzee had started to act like-like a total JERK since the game had ended! Well not a jerk….cause he would have had to have BEEN there with Tavros for him to be a jerk. He had missed Gamzee even though he was never gone.

And Gamzee was NEVER a jerk… (hic) Gamzee was the bestest troll he knew!

He would never admit it out loud but God, he wanted Gamzee.

_Now._

And right now in his (SLIGHTLY! He could still walk!) drunk state and with so many instincts just telling him to grow a pair, stop beating around the bush and just TAKE HIM, Tavros couldn't care less about the consequences of just taking what he wanted. Tavros growled softly under his breath, causing Gamzee to turn back to him, startled at the sound but frozen in place when Tavros stalked forward and stood in Gamzee's space. Tavros gripped the front of Gamzee's shirt with two bunched up fists full of fabric and before Gamzee could open his mouth any more he did the unthinkable, for Tavros at least.

He pulled him down to his height and claimed Gamzee's lips, stubbornly refusing to give up those lips for a long time.

When Tavros locked their lips together, Gamzee froze completely. A thousand feelings bouncing around his thinkpan but mostly only one thought.

'_What the hell just happened?!'_

This certainly wasn't what he had expected coming back from Karkat's after taking the nauseous troll to his hive, only moments ago debating on whether to go back feeling as twitchy and sore as he was.

But he was SO glad now that he had decided to stay.

Forgetting how to move or breathe for the slightest of moments before that amazing revelation hit him. Tavros was kissing HIM. Not the other way around, TAVROS had initiated the kiss, TAVROS had pulled HIM down to lock lips and TAVROS was the one currently trying to lead things here. Or at least get them started. And here he was frozen like a statue as Tavros's lips moved against his, desperately trying to get him to respond to his attentions.

The sound of Tavros whining against his mouth sure as fuck snapped him out his thoughts though. Gamzee forced himself to focus and responded to the kiss hesitantly, drawing a pleased moan from Tavros now that there was more than one willing participant in this sloppy makeout session. Growing slightly bolder, he snaking his arms down and gripping Tavros's thin hips gently with his hands, pulling him closer as a slight purr starting to vibrate in Gamzee's throat quietly as their hips fit together. After they had parted Gamzee groaned at the loss. _Oh god_- Tavros's lips tasted like alcohol, cake and as fucking close to perfection as perfection could taste.

Tavros ears flicked back, he did NOT like the distance, no matter how small it was at the moment, between them in the slightest. Nudging Gamzee with his nose before closing the scant three centimetre distance between them and connecting their lips again he pulled Gamzee back slightly till he was leaning slightly back against the sink counter. Raking his nails gently up Gamzee's clothed chest and around his neck one hand moving upwards still to grip his hair tugging slightly, Damn it! He didn't want to be the only one initiating things! He wanted Gamzee to fucking respond! Wanted Gamzee to tell him what he wanted! Wanted him to just take whatever he wanted-

Tavros moaned slightly as his silent plea to the universe to just give him a break just this once was answered as Gamzee's tongue swept along his bottom lip, tongue begging silently for entry. Tavros responded, _maybe a little too viciously?_ Grabbing Gamzee's tongue between his teeth before it retreated back into his mouth, biting soft enough so as not to cut his tongue but hard enough to remind Gamzee that YES he excepted the offer and YES he could move without his fucking permission each time. Loosening his grip with his teeth, Tavros sucked on it lightly like Gamzee's tongue was made of candy. Moaning, Gamzee couldn't stop his hands from roaming around Tavros's body as his tongue was busy wrestling for a dominance that was already his. The only thought in Gamzee's head being Tavros, _Tavros, __**Tavros.**_ His chest, his hips, his shoulders, and just- fuck.

Tavros was perfect. And he was HIS…

When Gamzee hitched Tavros up by the thighs and sat him down on the counter so that he could fit on the inside of Tavros's legs without breaking the kiss, Tavros let out a pleased gasp that ended in a moan as Gamzee pulled him into another teeth clacking kiss. Gamzee was tall enough that even with Tavros sitting on a meter high counter boosting him up, Tavros was still only just at eye level. But it was a much more comfortable angle, with Tavros not having to stand on tippy toes or Gamzee having to bend down.

Panting for air the second they disconnected, both of them trying to regain the breath they had lost after breathing in each other's air for so long, Gamzee let his contented purrs fill the bathroom, only broken by their slight panting.

Gamzee's breath hitched before stopping abruptly when Tavros's hands did a bit of wandering of their own, thumbs hitched into the seam of Gamzee's jeans and tugged them a little off his hipbones. Gamzee's sharp intake of breath was not missed by Tavros when he, with a wicked grin on his face, slid his hands teasingly away from the hemline and to the side of Gamzee's hips instead of sliding into his jeans like Gamzee would have wanted but pulled Gamzee closer still (if that was possible at this moment) only to start laying small kisses all over his face. Starting with the side of Gamzee's mouth then his nose and finally his forehead where the full expanse of Tavros's throat was exposed to Gamzee. Gamzee, taking full advantage of Tavros's bared neck, set to work on covering it with love bites, Tavros groaning and squirming slightly at a small nip and suck just under his jaw. Leaning forward and dislodging Gamzee from his neck but didn't take Gamzee's lips this time. Instead, he smiled widely, fangs peeking out over his lips and nuzzled his forehead to Gamzee's, eyes closed and just relishing the feel of Gamzee's cooler temperature on his hot-like-the-sun warm skin, whispering Gamzee's name softly. Turning his head to the side of Gamzee's head and tilting it so that his mouth was right next to Gamzee's ear but so that his horns wouldn't smack him in the face and ruin this moment with his clumsiness.

"I'm so red for you, Gamzee." Tavros whispered, voice rumbling off into a strange growly purr that thrummed in his chest, escalating and lowering in slow waves from his chest almost like a croon. Hugging Gamzee close so that he could not only hear the sound but feel it as well.

Gamzee's thought his smile would tear his face in two, ears perked at the sound reverberating in Tavros's chest (knowing full well the significance of Tavros letting him hear that sound, a sound reserved for matesprites and matesprites alone) eyes closed as the vibrations course through his body, not feeling the need to speak or kiss but just revelling in Tavros's presence he was about ready to kick his own voice box into action as well and join Tavros.

That was until his head gave an almighty pound that vibrated up his horns and back down again. He felt like his heart had just stopped and restarted again, right before kicking into hyper drive and going a million miles a second, spreading a fire through his veins.

"Gamzee?" Tavros asked, as a violent shudder ran through Gamzee.

~ O-O ~

**_I would like to point out the fact that I now know why so many people end their chapters on cliff-hangers. CAUSE IT'S SO DELIGHTFULLY EVIL! MWUHAHAHAHA! _**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL!_**


	4. Where the shit goes down

**_Starting this literally seconds after finishing the last chapter cause well, I've done nothing all day except write cause I messed up my ankle at netball….when I WASN'T playing a game just to add to the embarrassment of THAT situation and can now only move around by either hopping or doing the zombie shuffle. So I thought I'd do something productive and finish off chapter 4! The chapter that has been in my head even before I started writing this story. In fact it's the REASON I started writing this pain in the ass that is now my baby. Anyway, Check author notes at the end if your still confused on what the hell even IS my current obsession that is this story._**

**_CHAPTER 4: Where the shit goes down._**

Gamzee tore himself away from Tavros, leaving the shocked Taurus still sitting on the counter, eyes wide and cringing slightly at Gamzee's sudden movement, hands flying up and covering his mouth and stopping his thru'm, leaving the bathroom in a cold silence that was only broken by Gamzee's panting. Tavros lowered his hands from his face and reached towards Gamzee, eyes imploring and pleading for Gamzee to tell him what was wrong or even just tell him what he'd done wrong to cause such a response.

"Gamzee?! w-whats wrong? Wh-what did I do?" Gamzee couldn't even utter an apology, leaving Tavros looking so scared and heartbroken, thinking that HE had done something wrong, made his blood pusher beat even quicker than before and made him hate himself to a new degree. But that was before another searing pain slammed into his midsection almost bowling him over. He was staying up sheerly by willpower that was slowly diminishing by the second.

Not meeting Tavros's eyes Gamzee turned and tore the door open, running down the hallway as fast as his shaking legs would carry him, desperately hoping that Tavros hadn't called out after him or ,god forbid, tried to come after him.

Almost tripping over his feet as he almost made it out the front door he regained his balance with a strangled yelp. For some reason he knew that if he fell down, he wouldn't be getting back up again.

No staying on his feet right now was his main priority.

Right after getting the fuck out of there.

Hurtling out the door before anyone could see or stop him he reached the end of the hallway and mindlessly pressed the elevator door, urging it to open as quickly as possible before anyone could come after him.

Barely oppressing a short scream as it tried to tear its way out of his throat, Gamzee all but fell into the elevator once the doors finally opened, closing behind him as he supported himself on the closed door and stared blankly at the buttons.

Shit, were could he go? There was no way in hell he could go back to his room. His hive was too near, people would hear him there and come and investigate. Besides, he wasn't fucking stupid enough to realise that he needed help.

Supporting himself with one arm against the elevator door his body lurched without his consent and he sent a hand flying to clutch his abdomen as he felt something _twist-_ he couldn't hold in the next strangled screech. fuck Fuck FUCK-

_KARKAT. _

Lurching forward again he managed to hit the cancers sign.

He prayed that Karkat hadn't gone to bed yet.

Rushing off the transportaliser and waiting the agonising million years it took for the elevator door to open after stabilising, he stumbled out, clutching his head. Shit it felt like a fire had spread throughout his entire body and convulsions now shook him.

Coughing violently and retching up blood onto a wall, he staggered as fast as he could to Karkat's door, pounding on the door as soon as he reached it.

"KARKAT. FUCKING ANSWER THE DOOR *retch* FUCK, PLEASE! PLEASE BE AWAKE! _KARKAT_"

~!~

It was a very tired and very hung-over looking Karkat that went to answer the door when, come one am in the morning, he was awoken by his dumbass morail screeching at his front door and banging it like the building was on fire. Flinging his poorly abused door open he snarling at Gamzee through clenched teeth.

"FUCKS SAKE GAMZEE! IT'S ONE OCLOCK IN THE GODAMN MORNING WHAT DO YOU WA-"Karkat was cut off when Gamzee hurled himself past him and into his hive, this time falling down and staying down. Gamzee was curled up on himself, clutching his head as he let out ragged chocked back screams that pierced Karkat on the spot. Karkat's froze before his thinkpan caught up with him long enough to reach the conclusion that NO Gamzee was NOT just being retarded and he should stop standing there like a stupid fuck and HELP.

Karkat crouched next to Gamzee, hands hovering helplessly just above him, too afraid to touch the convulsing troll in case he made things worse.

Another throat tearing screech tore its way from Gamzee as he turned his head to Karkat opening his eyes and Karkat instinctually hurled himself away as Gamzee turned his now slitted pupils onto him.

_RED, _that fucking INSANE colour of red, filling up his eyes and only broken up by the black slit that was his pupil.

Gamzee flung his head up, screwing his eyes shut again and screamed openly now, claw tipped hands dragging down his wood floor while Karkat just sat there hands covering his mouth to stop himself from throwing up all over the floor and shook like a fucking cowa- _holy shit were Gamzee's claws growing?_

In that moment Karkat shook himself right the fuck out of it and leapt into action, the leader side of Karkat finally deciding to show up.

Through all his panic Karkat's brain was whirling with confused tomfuckery that demanded answers. This was nothing like when Gamzee had gone insane on the asteroid. Shooshes and Paps would do nothing to stop this. But whatever was happening with Gamzee could be thought on later, he needed to be moved somewhere safe NOW.

Darting back and crouching in front of Gamzee he held his face up towards him and tried to get his morail to look at him.

"GAMZEE. Gamzee I know you can hear me you stupid fucker, GAMZEE, GAMZEE FOCUS, Gamzee you can't stay here we need to move you somewhere so you won't hurt anyone."

Karkat could feel the tears that had welled up in his eyes streak down his face upon seeing Gamzee's slitted pupils trying to focus on him. His pupils kept focusing and losing focus on his face as if he was fighting, fighting to see straight and keep his gaze on his face or fighting to keep his sanity in check he didn't know. But before Karkat could say anything else a loud _CRACK _was heard and Gamzee froze completely, eyes wide and slit pupils quavering in agony, mouth open and bared in a silent scream before coughing violently and vomiting up an ungodly amount of blood.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no _Karkat repeated like a mantra in his head as he gripped Gamzee's shoulders and hauling him up, refusing to look at the blood on the floor as it left a small trail behind them, dragging him along as he looked around for a place to put Gamzee. When Gamzee bent over almost double as another snap (this time from his leg) sounded through the room, his horns were also getting larger and sturdier; Karkat noticed with a growing amount of panic that he was also getting taller, heavier and much fucking harder to carry as well.

Gamzee face was close enough from him that when he screamed again Karkat got a front row view of his serrated teeth that were way to close for comfort, razor sharp canines extended and looking as if they wanted nothing else but to tear and rip into flesh. Karkat changed his course abruptly heading straight for the basement door and flinging it open with one hand, the other arm occupied with supporting a now violently convulsing Gamzee, who's ears were now brushing against his head even with the distance between them. Hazardously making his way down the stairs he opened the other door at the end of the staircase and stumbled in, panting from holding Gamzee up and not dropping him from how hard he was shaking. Karkat had no choice but to lower him onto the ground before he dropped him in a heap. He went to help Gamzee again, only to be swiped at by a set of large and rather deadly claws.

"GET AWAY FROM ME! GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Gamzee snarled, now on his hands and knees. Trying to pant out something else before his back arched over again and his eyes screwing shut, mouth open in ragged pants and cries, claws dragging along the ground leaving large scratches in the cement floor as though that would help vent the pain.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL HERE?! GET. OUT. MOTHERFUCKER." Gamzee yelled without looking up, sentence ending in another scream. Karkat refused to leave; tears flowing freely.

No troll could be in this much pain and survive or at least not black out. But Gamzee was awake and conscious to feel every single cell in his body change, tear apart and reform.

Gamzee's head snapped around when Karkat hadn't moved, his eyes training and pinpointing onto Karkat with enough intensity to make him to back away from Gamzee a couple of steps to get out of his glare. The leader finally exhausted out and being replaced by a rather small and scared morail.

"GET OUT KARKAT. GET OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU" Gamzee was openly snarling now as though he couldn't form the words right. But his eyes, slitted, and insane as they were, pleaded with him to run, just get away from him and make sure he couldn't get out.

Karkat turned tail and ran, locking the door behind him and now overly glad that they had decided to design all the doors, wherever they may be, out of the same materials they had made the doors to the asteroid station. Belting up the stairs, Gamzee's screams following him, he closed the outer door with a slam and began dragging the heaviest cabinet he had over to it and for good measure his couch to back that up. Sprinting for his room, which he calculated was roughly above the basement, Karkat pulled his sickles out as soon as he had slid to a stop in the centre of the room, tearing away at the carpet with his hands until he could see the wood floor beneath it.

When slashing at the ground with his sickles to make a hole failed, he curved his weapon above his head and buried it deep into the floor wrenching it out and taking some wood and ceiling plaster with it. Crouching down on all fours he peered into the hole, his eyes widening, pupils contracting in terror at the scene below him.

Gamzee was still on all fours and screaming, but his screaming had a new note to it. It was more feral and raw, being ripped from the very depths of his soul as it seemed. His shoulder blades were sharp and shaking from the strain of keeping him up. His entire body had… _changed. _Gamzee looked to be a good 30 centimetres taller than he had been before, not including the tips of his deadly horns that curved out of his feral hair which had grown out drastically and was falling around him like a black mane. His mouth…ripped open almost all the way to the back of his jaw like an extension of his mouth.

His chest had enlarged but his waist stayed just as skinny and bony, hips angular but sharper, as ever. It was his legs and arms that horrified him the most. His legs had the anatomy of a meow-beast or bark-beast, having an extra joint were his ankle used to be as though it had grown into an extension from his foot and ending in an almost paw like dexterous foot. his arms were exactly the same as before above the elbows but now, instead of Gamzee's bony wrists and long tapered hands, his lower arms swelled into huge hands that looked like they didn't have a wrist and simply melding into a hand with no in-between, new muscles bursting out of his once lanky body but retaining his spindly form.

New horror rose from Karkats stomach threatening to make him vomit when he saw spines start to push their way out along Gamzee's spine, more following and two fine spines pushing out of his jaw right below a long tapered ear. Almost as if…as if had skin been connected the spines to his ears it would make a fin. In fact all the spines were in positions that if Gamzee had been a sea-dweller he would have had fins. Another gut wrenching scream from Gamzee brought his attention back to the sick spectacle before him.

Karkat swore something was pushing its way out of the bottom of his pants.

His suspicions were short lived though when the bulge flicked up, over and out of his pants revealing a stunning new piece of anatomy. A long tail with a tuft of raven black fur and very small spines along its length was now convulsing and slamming against the floor in all directions, covered in indigo blood and skin new and tough unlike the new flesh on a pupated troll, seemingly uncontrolled by Gamzee as it smashed against the floor and wall.

As one last crack was heard Gamzee flung his entire torso up, claws tearing ten deep furrows in the floor with how fast he ripped them away from the floor, as Gamzee let out one last excruciating scream, sounding more like a roar than anything else before falling back onto his stomach again.

Gamzee finally stopped convulsing after that, harsh pants echoing through the room. Not moving for a couple of seconds before slowly hauling himself up onto all fours, his rapid pants quickly being replaced by a quiet rumbling growl that echoed through the room. Gamzee's…tail under control again as it swayed slowly back and forth in the air, brushing against his just intact pants as though curious, shirt having been shredded long ago.

'Gamzee' opened his eyes slowly, his eyes almost glowing in the dark of the basement as he looking around at his surroundings, teeth slightly bared and long ears flicking as small bursts of pain still reverberated throughout his body in the aftershock. The growling only increased in volume as he heard the ceiling above him creak when Karkat shifted his weight, drawing in a sharp gasp before clamping a hand over his mouth when Gamzee's gaze passed over him. Gamzee's head snapped up as he detecting Karkat's presence and trying to pinpoint his exact location. Picking himself up and standing upright he started sniffing the air, ears flexing left and right before a long indigo tongue flicked out and waved in the air as though to taste for Karkat (or more likely his fear).

Gamzee's face lit up in a feral grin that seemed to lift WITH the torn up edges of his mouth, indigo blood oozing out of the already sealing skin around the tear and trailing down his face, joining the rest of his destroyed makeup. Blood and tears that now masked his face instead of the soft facepaint that he donned each day.

Karkat's eyes almost  
didn't detect Gamzee's movements when he twisted around and ran (on all fours) towards the basement door. Snarling savagely when barging into the door didn't even budge it, starting up on slashing and throwing himself at the door trying to weaken the Alternian wood. Karkat lurched up from his peeping hole and ran into the living room to reinforce the outer door with more objects just in case Gamzee was strong enough at this moment to break through double-Bec-Noir-proof-doors.

~!~

Before long he had a considerable pile of the heaviest objects piled in front of the outer door. Gamzee hadn't broken through the first door yet last time Karkat had checked on him through the peep hole. But it turned out he needn't have bothered since after another ten minutes of, FREAKING TERRIFYING, banging Gamzee had stopped throwing himself at the door when he realised it was futile. Dropping down on all fours and pacing along the walls of the basement snarling his anger at the walls and probably at Karkat as well, sometimes pausing in his pacing to rake his claws down the walls.

Karkat still hadn't taken his guard down and was sitting in front of the barricade of his furniture with sickles in hand and even bigger bags under his eyes from stress and lack of even MORE sleep.

He was thinking.

Of COURSE he was thinking! His fucking morail just transformed into a raging beast currently lurking in his basement and wanted nothing better than too pull his intestines out with his teeth! But that wasn't the only thing Karkat was thinking about. He couldn't shake the feeling that he'd seen something like this before…well not THIS before but something was nagging in the back of his head….. like he'd seen something similar in a book or maybe it was just instinct? It couldn't be beyond his instincts to warn him AWAY from the monster that was in his basement- Oh god. Was that what Gamzee was now? A monster? Shit what happened if he was stuck like this? God so many questions but no answers damnit!

_'Think, Karkat'_ he snarled internally and banging his head sideways into the couch he was sitting next to, barricading the door JUST IN CASE he could beat the answers out of his thinkpan. Although, it wasn't like he was bothered to get up to beat his head against a wall, and all the other objects worthy of his head smashing where piled up in front of the door. Could never be too careful when you had a rampaging morail set to devour anything that mov- STOP THAT. Christ, couldn't life just stop fucking with him for more than two seconds? Maybe this was what his ancestor had to deal with to? Probably not. Huh so much for 'all suffering ancestors' bet they never had to deal with this shit-

Wait.

_ANCESTORS._

Oh glorified fucknuts, why hadn't he thought of that before?!

Past Karkat was obviously an idiot for not thinking of this sooner. The answer had been right at the front of his thinkpan, on the tip of his tongue.

Stiffly standing up from his position guarding the door he ducked into his room quickly checking on what Gamzee was doing. . .sitting down on his…haunches and finger painting on the floor with his own blood, 'honk HONK's and smiley nosed faces scrawled around him. Ignoring his shuddering and looking harder at Gamzee for a good minute before his eyes flashed in recognition.

Gamzee….looked like a miniature replica of the Grand High Blood.

**_*Flashback back to Alternia where all the trolls of 4 sweeps were allowed into the empresses abandoned library caverns where they were given one chance to find their ancestors journals which had been hidden in the caverns, waiting for their offspring to find*_**

_Karkat watched as Crabdad perched up onto the overgrown canopy of the libraries entrance, screeching at him to hurry up so they could return to their hive. Turning towards the entrance and staring at it with much distrust and excitement he entered. This was his first chance to meet the other trolls of the planet! He remembered Crabdad telling him to be nice and not yell to loud or snap at anyone because there weren't many trolls, and if he messed up on his first impression he probably wouldn't fill any quadrants and that he couldn't come crying to him when the drones came along._

_Karkat turned into a dark corridor, shivering at the empty silence the cavern projected in cold waves. Seeing light at the end of the tunnel he quickened his pace to get out of the creepy corridor like cave(HE WASN'T SCARED! It was just chilly down there that's all!). When he finally reached the slightly ajar door he peaked around it and gasped at the sheer vastness of the place. Moonlight filtered through openings that had been carved into the solid stone in the ceiling giving off more than enough light to see and read by. The cavern was ENORMOUS. It had shelves as far as the eye could see and then some. There was no other library archive where you could just search up your ancestor's journal either; recent ancestors hid their journal in the library for their offspring to FIND. This made sure that only the intended troll was able to read their ancestors most sacred item. Blood was also needed to open these journals as well so not just anyone could open it and start reading though their memoirs, but Karkat already knew this! He was pretty much set to troll this whole dang library to find his ancestors journal! After all, he was the first troll here and therefor, the most awesome troll he-_

_Hearing creaking coming from his right he dropped down and rolled to the side silently, but the newcomer had already seen his yellow eyes glowing in the dark, unbeknownst to Karkat. Perking his ears around and checking to see if anyone really WAS there and it wasn't just a creaky chair, unaware of the troll silently stalking him from behind some rubble near the door, waiting for him to emerge and wriggling its bottom in the air in preparation for pounce-off! _

_Satisfied with his once over check that it was only his imagination he stepped over the broken door remains he had rolled behind Karkat started off into the library with head start to find his ancestor journal, smugness radiating off him at being the first one there yet again. _

_That smugness was short lived though when a heavy warm bundle slammed into him knocking both of them over before pinning him down with surprisingly strong arms for such a tiny thing. Startled and yelping as his struggles grew into flailing before all movement was cut off by a victorious "Mrrrreow!" his eyes finally focused on the small troll on top of him. _

_Wait, ANOTHER TROLL! _

_"AC the Fuuuuurocious hunter pounces and Catures her purrrrrrrey!" the troll on top of him announced triumphantly, "AC waits for her purrrrey to retailiate." Said troll on top of him (definitely a girl, he deliberated) looked down on him expectantly, pouting when he just stared at her first incredulously, well you would after meeting your first ever other troll and having that troll sit on you, before he scowled and growled softly when her butt began to crush him. Huffing and getting off him she crossed her arms over her chest with some difficulty over her muddy three-sizes-to-big trench coat. "No need to growl and get your tail in a knot! I just wanted to play, but I don't think you know how to role purlay I suppose" Holding out a sleeve covered hand she smiled "Im Nepeta! Nepeta Lejion! Whats your name?" Karkat hesitated before grasped her hand and shaking it, were trolls supposed to act like this?_

_"Karkat Vantas" he stated simply, still shocked that his first encounter with another of his species had literally bowled him off his feet._

~!~

_After a couple of hours the other trolls of the planet arrived with their Lusus and cautiously entered the library. Nepeta who had found her ancestors journal, quite quickly after scaling a shelf looking for places she sensed that a 'Mighty Huntress!' would leave it for her to find as Karkat had just stood at the bottom of the shelf she had scaled with an exasperated look on his face that turned to an actual smile when he heard her squeal and leap down with a journal tucked into her trench coat pocket as she scurried to a sheltered heap of rubble and burrowing under as she settled down to read about her ancestor. Thinking hard and trying to think like an ancestor of his he tried various places that he would have placed it in the library._

_After two hours of searching he still couldn't find the damn thing, other trolls had already come and proclaimed theirs with hardly any effort whatsoever. Nepeta had found a playmate with a troll called Equius Zahhak, his journal was for some reason made of metal and looked about as heavy as the sun but Equius managed to pick it up and sat near Nepeta as she continued to read through her journal. Eventually by the end of the night, Nepeta was laying on Equius's lap napping._

_Another troll called Tavros….umm…Tavros NITRAM! That was it, was laying on his stomach and reading his ancestors journal with wide eyes after finding it on the highest shelf in the entire library; One troll called Vriska Serket had yelled at him to get down before he fell and another troll named Aradia yelled encouragement and screeches when it looked like he was about to fall, his response was a loud laugh and a shouted reply from WAAAAAAAY up there that he wasn't afraid of falling or heights! before triumphantly pulling out a brown leather covered journal with his symbol on it and climbing down as swiftly as he could to sit in a sheltered corner by himself to start reading._

_Captor…Sollux! Had stood in front of the first isle for about 30 minutes with his eyes shut and his nose scrunched up and hands near his temples. Eridan Ampora had laughed and asked if he was expecting his journal to just fly into his hand, Sollux breaking his concentration for a moment turned and stuck his forked tongue out at Eridan. He was still at it now last time he looked over and didn't seem to have made any progress. Feferi and Eridan had found their journals in a deep pool in the middle of the cavern that housed the seadweller's ancestors._

_After yet ANOTHER hour of searching he sat down on some rubble and sniffled, He couldn't find it anywhere! Even Sollux had gotten his! And he hadn't done anything! All he had done was scrunch his nose up and stand there and then his eyes had crackled blue and red and then WHOOSH, journal in hand (Sollux had made sure to parade around with his journal in front of Eridan) He had tried to think about where his ancestor would have put it but he didn't know what kind of ancestor he had! That was the reason he was down here to read the damn thing wasn't it!_

_Before he could continue his inner rant at himself there was a creak from the entrance door before a small troll with a frizzy mountain of hair came tumbling in, all the trolls stopped talking and peered curiously at the late newcomer. Clearing the chaos of his hair away from its face a small male troll with facepaint smudged by dirt, grass stains and foliage trapped in his hair was revealed. Smile being emphasized by the painted one that curved up his lips he stood and shook the leaves out of his hair before ducking behind a shelf to start searching without introducing himself._

_As all the other trolls went back to reading Karkat crept behind a shelf and peaked through it at the little troll. Gosh he was really short! And he was really late? And why was he covered in mud and leaves? It looked like he had just gone and trekked here from his hive. Didn't he have a lusus to carry him?_

_"Where's your lusus? Did it carry you here?" Karkat couldn't help it, he wasn't normally this nosy or social but he was really, really, really curious! Plus he felt somehow connected to this troll. Like it was a good idea to talk and be around this troll, like it was MEANT TO BE._

_The shorter troll jumped and turned around like he was in disbelief that someone was talking to him._

_"Sorry, I didn't say my name, im Karkat!" he smiled *(yes Karkat smiled willingly once upon a time when he was but a wee troll) after a few moments thought when the little troll didn't answer he frowned *(Karkat's back)_

_"Can't you speak? Can you write your name? Do you have a name?" Karkat couldn't stop asking questions, this troll intrigued him somehow and he wanted to know! _

_"I can speak" the troll muttered. "What's your name then?" Karkat leaned forward from where he was leaning through the book case. "Gamzee Makara" Gamzee stood a little taller as though that would make a difference._

_"So how come you're so dirty? Didn't your Lusus carry you?" Karkat went back to his first question_

_"I walked here by myself" Gamzee shrugged as though the caverns WEREN'T miles away from any hives on the planet. Unless Gamzee's hive was._

_YOU WALKED?! By yourself?! Where's your hive?" Karkat asked incredulously_

_"Near the sea" Gamzee's back was turned to him as he tried to leap up and grab a journal that looked promising._

_"What the fu- heck is a 'sea'?" He had no idea what a 'sea' was seeing as he lived in the planets inner jungles that were crabdad's natural habitat._

_Gamzee looked back from where he had started to climb and smiled for the first time since talking to Karkat "It's like the most bitchtits big puddle you ever saw except it stretches across the horizon! But it don't taste very nice and if you get your hair wet and don't wash it your hair gets sticky" He scrunched up his nose. Karkat smiled, he liked this Gamzee!_

_"Why didn't your lusus come with you? Feferi's lusus is HUUUUUUUGE and it dropped her at the edge of that" He pointed at the giant hole of water that was in the middle of the cavern "Is it bigger than Feferi's Lusus?! That would be pretty hu-" Karkat stoped mid ramble when he noticed that Gamzee's smile was gone again_

_"Goatdad wasn't at the beach when it was time to go…even though he said he would be... so I waited another hour and when he still didn't turn up I went looking for the caverns myself" He gave a small smile "And I find them didn't I! All by myself! And I didn't think there would be this many trolls here, Goatdad always said there weren't many le-" He was cut off when he slipped from the two shelves up he had managed to scale and landed on his butt in front of Karkat._

_Karkat laughed helping Gamzee up, it must suck to be the shortest, he wouldn't know of course being the tallest of the 4 sweep year old trolls here he thought with a certain amount of smugness._

_"Im never going to find my journal in time" Gamzee said sniffing "I shouldn't have bothered coming" Karkat scowled good-heartedly "Well I haven't found my journal yet either but that doesn't make me an incompetent troll! Hey you help me find mine and I'll help you find yours, Deal?" Gamzee looked up slightly with a surprised expression on his face like he couldn't believe someone was helping him before his face lit up in a brighter-than-the-sun grin "Deal motherfucker!"_

~!~

_It had taken them all but thirty minutes to find Karkat's journal after finding his in a pile of books in an overturned shelf that Terezi had knocked over. Karkat almost screamed in frustration, that shelf was the first place he looked! He had just KNOWN it would have been in a really obvious place that no one would look in. The practical side of him had screamed that his ancestor would be just as paranoid as him. That shit HAD to be genetic._

_Gamzee had led the way on where he thought his ancestor would hide his journal, stopping at random piles of books and rummaging almost to the bottom till coming back with a sad pout and a shake of his head._

_"Hey Karkat could you boost me up to the top shelf here?"_

_"Pfft, Gamzee any ancestor of yours will only ever be three feet from the ground like your own grand self, don't think it's going to be hiding anywhere that's far from the floor"_

_"Karkat, one day I will tower over all you motherfuckers and when that day comes when you can't reach the top shelf because you're such a tiny squirt and you'll beg me to reach it for you." Gamzee put his hands up to his face in mock distress and squeaked out a poor imitated of Karkat's voice 'Oh help me Mr Makara! My stubby legs can't reach the second shelf!' mark my words!"_

_"When that day comes Gamzee I will cover myself in grub sauce and dance in front of…..That Eridan guy over there!"_

_"Well get ready for that day. They can call the dance "Dance of the many sex-butts" in your honour"_

_"Gamzee that is just gross"_

_"You started it, now help me up onto the top shelf! I've got a good feeling about this one!"_

_After lots more bickering for Gamzee to watch where he was sticking his feet and to "get your stinking shoes out of my mouth!' he was lifted high enough to browse on the top of the shelf._

_"Karkat could you shuffle to the right till you hit that wall? There's a little crevice in the rock over there and there's something in it"_

_Karkat huffed and wobbled slightly to the right speaking around the precious journal securely lodged in his mouth "Yeah totally Gamzee, Anything else while I've got you *huff* up there? Want me to also carry you back to you hive by the big puddle? Don't know if you'd noticed but for a shortass you're pretty heavy!"_

_Shuffling awkwardly they reached the small incision in the stone wall. Gamzee stretched even further and stuck a hand inside, rummaging about. Karkat was concentrating on holding Gamzee and his own journal in his teeth when he heard a victorious cry come from Gamzee. Looking up was a bad idea because he lost balance and they landed in a heap with a loud "Honk!" from Gamzee as they landed._

_Doing a little dance on Karkat where he'd landed on his legs, efficiently pinning Karkat to the ground on his stomach, and his journal raised in front of him, Gamzee opened his journal and started reading right then, journal a multitude of dark colours from all over the hectrospectrum with a bright indigo symbol on the front, ignoring Karkat's indignant screech at him to get his butt off him._

_Karkat decided he might as well start reading his journal as well seeing as Gamzee was pretty content on staying right the fuck on his legs._

_After about fifteen minutes of reading he felt Gamzee shift about on his legs and tore himself out of his ancestor's memoirs. Gamzee looked slightly horrified(?) at whatever he was reading. "Gamzee? What the hecks the matter? Stop moving about your butts bony!" Karkat was about to go back to reading 'The sufferers' journal when he heard Gamzee shut his._

_"Are you done already? Either that or your ancestor was a really boring fuck" Karkat scoffed "Nah…just don't feel like… reading it all" Karkat twisted round almost knocking Gamzee from his perch on his legs. "You DON'T want to know what your ancestor was like?! Damn Gamzee, did you at least read far enough to know the guys name? Shits kinda required unless you WANT to be culled"_

_"Yeah,… The Grand Highblood, pretty fancy name think it'll raise a few eyebrows during dinner with Goatdad?" Gamzee's smile was back though it looked a little forced_

_"Although, I think you miiiiiight want to know that the bet is still up" Gamzee smirked as his face was overcome with mischief when he looked over Karkat._

_"Huh? What bet?"_

_"The one about you covering yourself in grub sauce" Gamzee crowed as he flicked to a page and showed it to Karkat._

_Well fuck. Gamzee's ancestor was HUGE. _

_And terrifying holy shit, nothing like Gamzee at all. _

_For one his hands were MASSIVE, his hair looked like it could devour a small child, facepaint was spiked, sharp and defined on his face and those spiked clubs he carried were covered in ever shade of colour in the rainbow. He didn't look quite like a land dwelling troll. But then again he didn't look like a seadwelling troll either, Kind of a weird mix between the two._

_"You sure that's your ancestor? Doesn't look anything like you. The horns are kinda similar but after that, nope nada, that's not your ancestor, your still a short fuck" He joked trying to get Gamzee back into good spirits._

_It worked, because the next second they were tumbling about in a mock fight after Gamzee had stated that "Still short but I could still kick your butt across Alternia with one hand behind my back and a horn bound!"_

_Gamzee and Karkat soon collapsed onto the ground (or rather they flopped further onto the ground seeing as they never left it) Laughing and trying to breathe through heavy pants._

_Karkat hadn't laughed this hard in almost all his sweeps. He decided that he liked this Gamzee!_

_Even if he was weird as fuck._

~!~

Karkat leaning back from where he had been peering in on Gamzee who was pacing on all fours again; it was true that Gamzee looked like the Grand Highblood. But STILL something was nagging in the back of his thinkpan that this was still a totally different problem in the game field of fucked up problems that had been assigned to his ass.

Sighing in exasperation at the new problems that bloomed in his mind he got up stiffly and walked over to the edge of the couch and sat down, sickles back in hand as he stood guard of his basement door. He dragged a hand down his face; Gamzee wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, all these problems could wait till morning when he could see if the situation had gotten any better or any worse.

Unable to keep sleep at bay any longer, Karkat slipped into a restless sleep to the sound of his Morails snarls drifting up the stairs

~ O-O ~

**Oh god, Im so sorry my Anon Canon just started firing all over the place there in the middle with that flashback and before I knew it, it was well over 2000 words. It was only supposed to be like 500 words! GODAMN IT BRAIN! Was it really necessary for you to include a shorty!Gamzee canon or an innocent-actually-happy!Karkat?! NO IT WASN'T! Just get in there, backstory and get out!**

**Ok for those who are wondering NO. Gamzee is NOT a werewolf but that was originally the inspiration for this story. Just add the fact that the Grand High Blood is just a freak among trolls with his strange anatomy, Sober!Gamzee is physically different from normal Gamzee, I refuse to believe it can just transition from Land troll to Sea troll without some weird freaky aquatic Gamzee swimming around the place with spines instead of fins and a tail cause Hussie doesn't will it but I do and Badda Bing, Badda Boom SHITTY FANGIRL HEADCANON ACTIVATED!**

**Ok, So explanations are in order I suppose 'cause I literally can't think of ANY other way to even remotely or possible introduce this theory into the story without just downright zapping Karkat with a lightning bolt and bestowing unto him 'THE WORDS OF THE SHITTY AUTHOR WHO HAS RUINED YOUR PERSONALITY AND CHARACTER BEYOND RECOGNITION! BOW TO YOU CHARACTERS DESTORYER!'**

**Ok so (in this AU) we've already pointed out that the varying phases of the moon (on Alternia the two moons would have countered the pressure and such) cause changes in pressure that the Trolls aren't accustomed to. Basically in Gamzee's bloodline there's a hormone (or other chemical reaction) that is produced by an organ in his body (like the trolls equivalent of an appendix but if Gamzee's was removed he would die) that increases whatever it secretes faster when he's mad or when the adrenaline kicks in. That's why the Grand Highblood looks like Gamzee when he flips the fuck out but isn't quite the same, you know the red eyes and all dat. Why? Because the GHB was on Alternia. And the pressure of the planet made sure that the hormone only released gradually and was burned off when he fought and killed shit, if he had a tail it would have been miniscule compared to Gamzee's. BUT because of the varying pressures of earth the gland in Gamzee's brain is blocked so the hormone is being produced but it's not going anywhere, therefore it is building up and the only other times where it's released is if he's having a major adrenalin rush or he was mad angry (HULK SMASH! - NO you've already ruined one characters image. Don't bring another franchise into it)**

**So there's been this massive build-up of this hormone, let's call it GHBS-grand highblood syndrome- throughout the month because the pressure isn't high enough on Earth for it to be released gradually into the body, eventually (about 3 days before highest pressure) it starts literally messing with Gamzee's thinkpan when the pressure builds enough for some to trickle VEEEEEERY slowly into the body, hence the migraines. So when the pressure finally builds up enough it all just bursts out. Now just imagine the results of a MONTHS worth of GHBS building up and then flooding through Gamzee's body in moments. And take into consideration that the grand high blood had a small amount produced every day that he burned off with activities and what not and look at the results to that! After the initial burst of GBHS it empties the gland entirely and with that much in his system it takes him about eight hours to burn off the hormone (Gamzee could get this out of his system much faster due to his bodies compatibility with Sopor slime that acted like a sort of treatment that prevented GHBS from being produced and eventually his body copied the bacteria in the sopor slime and copied it with its own imitation with white blood cells that cleaned out the system afterwards quicker) but not before his body responds and changes to the required size and shape so that the GHBS doesn't kill him straight up. Just imagine the change like ALL your growth spurts combined together and spanned out within two minutes while your body's internal organs and body structure stop momentarily to keep up with the change and in some cases snapping or shredding and reforming.**

**Shit would HURT.**

**And so with all this going on do all you wonderful readers know what that makes? A FUCKING COMPLICATED HEADCANON THAT'S WHAT! (Takes lab coat off and proceeds to tell the class of Fan fiction that there will be a pop-quiz tomorrow on the science and sciences of PBJ. And it counts for their ENTIRE grade.)**

**And with much, MUCH ado,**

**I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL!**


	5. Alone, Hate or Love?

**Well shit biscuits, Runswithlolwolves got her shit together long enough to post something! Sorry for the wait.**

**Honestly I would be lying if I didn't say that every single review I get makes me just downright cry in joy. **

**Chapter 5: Alone, Hate or Love?**

Back at the kids apartment, hidden away in a bathroom and unaware of what was happening just eight stories below his feet, a crying Taurus was leaning against a cabinet, legs tucked up to his chest and head against his knees crying silently over the deep bass that thumped through the wall from a few rooms away.

Tavros felt stupid, SO fucking stupid.

Of course Gamzee wouldn't return such feelings back to him. He was stupid to think a Highblood like Gamzee would think of him as more than a FRIEND at best.

As the bright brown tears ran down his face he wondered why he tried at all, Gamzee could do so much better than him, hell it wouldn't be hard to find ANYONE better than the pathetic excuse for a troll he was, sitting on a dirty bathroom floor and almost drowning in self pity. Tavros wasn't even kidding himself anymore.

He was a stuttering, clumsy brown blood for fucks sake... Just a lowly shit blood…

Tavros wiped the sleeve across his face to try and clear it of the various liquids that were streaming down his face, staining his sleeve a chocolate brown, without success as more tears ran down his face.

Slowly as the minutes ticked by, Tavros's pain at Gamzee's betrayal turned to anger. Why was he always the one who ended up crying alone? Lamenting over his sorrow like a wriggler that had just lost their lusus? And what was it to Gamzee for leading him on like that? He wasn't some fucking toy that could be played with and then thrown away. He might have been the one who had started that heated moment earlier, but Gamzee sure as fuck responded. It wasn't one sided unrequited red flushing there, Gamzee had RESPONDED... Played along with the cruel joke that was his stupid, STUPID false confidence and then running out as soon as… as soon as….

Tavros balled up his fists close to his face and scrunched his eyes shut as fresh tears welled up and spilt down his face. Oh god, he'd let Gamzee hear him thru'm, heard him PURR for fucks sake. He'd held Gamzee close so that he could feel it as it had vibrated in his chest, spreading joy and warmth through his chest then but sending chills through it now as he remembered how happy it had made him feel to share his long pent up affections and letting Gamzee know of the depth of his adoration in that single noise. He's almost giving him his body, only to have Gamzee rip that gift away and hurl that it back in his face.

Tavros gave up on being totally silent and let out small sobs as he slumped to the ground and curled up into a tighter ball as his anger melted. He couldn't blame Gamzee for this; he just didn't seem capable of hating someone platonically or just hateful feelings for anyone in general. Any other troll would have declared the blackest of kismisitude from that utter rejection of red feelings of that degree. But Tavros just couldn't feel black for Gamzee. The only Quadrant that he would ever want to fill with Gamzee outside of pale would be red.

Tavros inhaled sharply and almost chocked on his own spit. Where they even pale after that?

_'Probably not'_ he though dejectedly as he let his head drop onto the cold tile under him, head tilted awkwardly to the side so that he could actually lay down with his large horns, before slumping down entirely, he couldn't even hold up a partway morailigance with someone!

He stayed curled up on that floor for a long time, tears occasionally running down his face as he lay there and slowly stopped the pity party that was raging in his thinkpan and just…stopped caring. Gave into the black cloud in his mind that had been slowly rolling over leaving him numb and not caring, he wouldn't have given a flying fuck right then if Papua pan had flown into the room and told him to think happy thoughts and fly with him on some grand adventure like his ancestor, probably would have told his childhood hero to fuck off.

Not hearing the knock on the door Tavros was hardly startled from his spot curled up on the tiles, the only indication that he had even heard the door open at all was a flick from one of his ears, when Vriska came into the bathroom and almost stepped on him.

"Wha!- oh Tavros! What are you doing on the floor? Man did you get wasted! Falling asleep on the bathroom flo-" Vriska stopped as she saw Tavros's slightly dried tears and his apparent lack of reaction or capacity to give a flying fuck if Vriska had almost tripped over his prone body.

"Tav?" Vriska's concern doubled when she saw him flinch slightly at the nickname.

"Tavros? What happened? Are you still angry at me for getting cake on your shirt? Geeeeeeeeze! ill go out with you and buy a new one! Or do you need me to kill a bitch?!" Vriska punched her hand and grinned widely expecting Tavros to get up and retort something witty back.

"Get out"

Vriska's smile slipped off her face and she took a step back. What?

"Tavros, this isn't funny. What the fuck is wrong with you, Are you hurt?"

"What part of 'Get out' didn't you fucking understand?" Tavros growled softly, uncurling himself from the floor and sitting up on his knees but keeping his back turned from Vriska.

"Im just trying to figure out what's gotten you so upset Geeeeeeeeze! No need to growl at me...Tavros what happened? Im just trying to help yo-" Vriska made the mistake of taking a step forward.

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT" Tavros yelled in a harsh rasp, snarling like Vriska had never heard him snarl before his head whipping around and pinning her with his infuriated gaze, Smoke trailed from his hands before bursting into flames.

Vriska hadn't seen Tavros this angry or sad in sweeps, Shit, Tavros was one of the more mellow trolls of the group but he could still sure as hell rip out your spleen if he was aggravated enough.

She didn't have much more time to think on the matter though when Tavros twisted off the floor and lunged at her, striking with a flaming hand and claws slicing through the air where she had been just a second ago as she managed to fall back, landing on the balls of her feet.

Snarling Tavros managing to pivot on his heel and catch her cheek with a flaming claw as she recovered from the dodge. Vriska cried out sharply as his hand burnt her face and sliced her cheek simultaneously before she could duck away from his next blow and back spring out of the bathroom, landing in another crouch.

"TAVROS?! The fuck is wrong with you?! Cool the sick fires before you burn down the building!" Vriska yelled at Tavros, cupping her cheek as sky blue blood slowly trickled down her face and through her fingers, as he stood in the bathroom door ready to lunge at Vriska again, Eyes aflame with nothing but instinct.

Tavros was a sad, angry, confused and oh so frustrated at everything to care that he was strifing with Vriska of all trolls, he just desperately needed to take his pain out on something or someone before he LITERALLY brought the house down with his sick fires.

Snarling and baring his teeth viciously he made to lunge again before a bucket (OH GOD WHY) of cold water was thrown on him mid leap, yelping as his sick fires were put out and he crashed to the ground mid leap.

Tavros was stunned momentarily before regaining his wits enough to try and figure out what was going on and WHO threw a damned bucket of water at him.

Rose was standing there stunned with the scandalous bucket from under the sink dripping water in her hands as the rest of the trolls and humans peering around the corner of the hallway at the commotion.

The cold water had knocked some sense back into him though as he got up from the ground shivering (fuck did he hate water) Looking down at his hand and seeing the blue blood that was splattered on his fingers it didn't take a genius to figure out what he had done.

Oh Jesus, he had just attacked Vriska, HIS MORAIL. When she was trying to help him too, he couldn't go one night before fucking up his quadrants huh? Vriska was kneeling nearby with one hand to her cheek to staunch the blood flow as she checked that Tavros was back to the SANE state of mind before attempting to go near him again.

"Vr-Vriska?… ar- are you ok? Oh god, oh god, oh god I am s-so sorry I wasn't th-thinking, y-your b-b-bleeding shit" Tavros held one arm around himself to try and stop shivering like a wet…. well Tavros, and reaching towards Vriska with the other showing his open palm in a peace gesture, stuttered and stumbled over his words, hitching breath breaking up his words even more.

Vriska sighed, Tavros was safe to approach she figured if the stuttering was any indication that he wasn't going to set the building on fire anymore or maul someone else. Walking over to Tavros and hoisting him up and supporting him with an arm around his waist she walked out of the apartment slowly towing Tavros along to her hive without another word.

"What happened? Who's fighting?" Jade called from the back of the crowd, not being able to see through to what was happening. A hushed whisper from Kanaya causing her to "Ooooh" rather loudly as the crowd dispersed back to the lounge room.

"There better not be blood on the fucking carpet" Dave grumbled before settling back into the party's easy atmosphere.

~!~

Tavros was curled up on Vriska's small couch, huddled up in a massive quilt when Vriska walked over from her small kitchen, cheek cleaned and bandaged, and handed him a mug of tea that he held but didn't make any move to drink. '_Still feeling guilty'_ she supposed. The entire walk to Vriska's hive had been occupied by Tavros's endless apologies and his botchy first aid attempt once she'd finally caved and let him do it, quickly being swatted away again after he hadn't been able to hold the cotton bud still long enough to clean up the blood on her cheek.

Sighing and sitting down next to him with her own mug before setting it down on the table in front of her, wondering why she had made the bloody stuff in the first place if no one was going to drink it.

"So are you going to tell me whatever the fuck that was back there?"

"Nothing happened" Tavros mumbled unconvincing even to himself, he'd had always been a terrible liar, but THAT took the cake.

"Don't tell me that was nothing! Tavros, not only did I find you crying on the fucking bathroom floor, but you ATTACKED me and almost set the apartment on fire with your sick fires when you could have just set some rabid mice on me if you wanted me out because 'nothing happened'" Vriska didn't mean to be spiteful, but she wanted to get to the end of this before daybreak.

Tavros closed his eyes and gripped his mug tightly, gritting his teeth while Vriska gave him a well-deserved verbal beating. "Now stop beating around the proverbial bush and out with it!" Tavros swallowed loudly before beginning with a few false starts.

"I….I had a moment with Gamzee tonight." He stated simply, not wanting to go further into detail at the moment in fear that he would start bawling like a wriggler again.

"What sort of moment?" Vriska's eye's narrowed, "Gamzee isn't going sober again is he? Argh, weaning the bloody stoner off that shit was hard enough the first time we do NOT need him going bat shit crazy on us now."

"He's not going sober on us Vris, no the moment was more….flushed…" Tavros finished quietly, not because he was ashamed to admit flushed feelings for someone in front of her but because it still made his blood pusher twist when he thought of that certain troll that shall not be named, because he was about ready to find Gam- CERTAIN TROLL THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED and kick him in the bone bulge hard enough to send him back to Alternia, or maybe he'd just cry again, he wasn't sure. Fucking feelings.

"Flushed…Tavros this is a good thing! You've finally grown into your horns and trolled the fuck up enough to tell him! Finally, I was sick of watching you two eye fuck each other from across the room" Vriska beamed "What else happened? Did you propose matespritship?" Tavros nodded slowly.

"You get to first base?!" When he nodded slightly, but what was indeed identifiable as a nod, she threw one of her arms around him and gestured wildly at him with the other "TAVROS, I BE PROUD OF DIS LIL PIMP RIGHT HERE!"

When she heard Tavros sniffle she stopped mocking him and actually thought for a second, Fuck she really was the spider bitch sometimes, had to work on that. Hugging him with the arm around his shoulder a little tighter she stopped smirking, a little ashamed at her outburst of joy there.

"…what else happened Tavros?" pale pitied concern on her face as she felt wholly ashamed of her stupid thoughtlessness when Tavros's lip trembled before he shanked his traitorous wobbling lip with his teeth.

"He ran away." Tavros murmured bitterly screwing his eyes shut and biting into his lip hard enough to make it bleed, again. Vriska put her other arm around Tavros and pulled him into a tight hug as he lost the battle with himself to stop crying and he leaned into Vriska and let the tears flow down his cheeks.

"He r-ran away from me, what d-did I do? I should n-never have even bothered t-trying in t-the first place, H-he w-would flush r-red for me e-even if I wasn't j-just a pathetic l-Lowblood, w-wouldn't choose me, shouldn't c-choose me o-over anyone e-else" He wailed into Vriska's shoulder, shoulders shaking with sobs, not making any sense but just taking comfort in Vriska presence.

Vriska murmuring sweet nothings in his ear to try and console him even a little bit, shooshing him and rocking slightly and just generally trying to calm him down. '_You've got to stop this' _Tavros thought, crying at even the mention of Gamzee's name. He needed to be strong now, for Vriska's sake and the others. He had to get over this, it wasn't that big a deal, Gamzee didn't want him…and he needed to except that now and get on with it.

Tears staunching their flow from his eyes he leaned against Vriska heavily, Exhausted mentally and physically.

"Come on Toreodumbass, you can crash your tired silly ass in my hive tonight" she said softly getting up and grabbing two of her pillows from her room before coming back and throwing them over the couch and onto him. He wouldn't fit in her bed as they had found out before, last time he had crashed at her place she had almost ended up with a concussion when he had rolled over in his sleep and smashed her on the head with one of his horns.

"Goodnight my dear silly morail, don't rummage through my food storage unit and don't keep me up with your snoring or I WILL throw you out into the hallway!" she yelled behind her as she turned off the lights and down the small hallway. Vriska closed the door to her bedroom sighing and leaning against it, Gamzee was going to get a fucking face full of bad luck when she got to him, but Tavros came first on her agenda of priorities. But she WOULD make sure that Gamzee paid somehow.

Tavros burrowed under the now slightly wet blanket, flipping onto his stomach and burying his face into a very Vriska smelling pillow, replaying the nights events over and over in his head till he shook his head in frustration as though to shake the thoughts out of his head like an angry bull trying to throw a rider. He was strong, he didn't want Gamzee. And he certainly didn't need Gamzee… He didn't need Gamzee.

_It wasn't good to lie to himself like that._

~ O-O ~

**_*FUCK DIAMONDS. COMMAS ARE A GIRLS BEST FRIEND._**

**_Wow short chapter, Most people forget that about Tavros's 'sick fires'? WHY!? So many great writing opportunities right there! Although you must all surely hate me by now for ruining these characters personalities, I am trying to make Tavros NOT look like a simpering Damsel in distress but he just spent this entire chapter crying, WAY TO GO ME. _**

**_Please R&R and tell me if there's anything im messing up. _**

**_OR you can just R&R for the hell of it because hey, if giraffes could fly or they were carnivorous we'd be SO fucked. FUN FACT FOR YOU ALL RIGHT THERE *think about it, think about it, DON'T THINK TO HARD….there you go =w= * seriously I love hearing from you guys!_**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU WONDERFULL READERS!_**


	6. The Morning After

**_WHOO, back to updating my stories because I stopped being such a lazy bitch! Honestly thank you all for your kind reviews. The fact that you take the time to review my story gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, you readers are literally what makes an author. *huh not that I can call myself one* Your reviews are literally like the bread and butter that feeds our imagination and stops us from starving or being caught by the asshole I like to call Homework- Procrastination. _**

**_I meant to say Procrastination…and the shit tonne of homedy-workz-I-haz but OOOOOOOH WELLLLL… Stay in school kiddies_**

**_Chapter 6: The Morning After _**

_Pain._

Unfiltered undiluted _pain_ was the first thing that registered through Gamzee's body as he roused from his place on the floor the next morning.

Groaning he shifted onto his side before wincing and stopping as his bones jarred and protested against all movement. Muffling a yelp and sitting up he supported himself on an arm that felt like it was about to shatter. Clutching his head as ringing sensations ran up and down his horns like a bad case of pins and needles he tried to make sense of the situation. Christ, he felt like he'd just been ripped apart in the most violent way possible and then reassembled carefully so that there wasn't any evidence or signs that anything had happened at all and he was just stark raving mad. Fuck what HAD happened last night? Last thing he remembered… was… the last thing…OH. He'd just taken Karkat's drunken ass back to his hive, come back to the party, bumped into Tavro-

SHIT TAVROS.

Groaning and holding his head with two hands now as the events of the night flowed through his mind with as much grace as a fucking torrent of water going down the waterfall of fuck-Gamzee's-thinkpan-up to the river of Oh-god-oh-god-what-did-I-fucking-do-after-that?

Ok think Gamzee, THINK. Tavros had…Fuck. The more Gamzee thought on it the more his thinkpan burned but he NEEDED to remember. Something in his chest cringed at the thought of forgetting whatever had gone down in that bathroom, wait yes! They'd gone to the bathroom. Cake and alcohol…Tavros had confessed red feelings for him, he smiled before frowning slightly trying to put together more of the evening, keeping a tab on that memory, daring it not to be fucking true.

... And then he had run away. Oh godddddddddddd why?! Why would he run away from that!? No there would have been a reason.

…Nothing.

He couldn't remember anything after that point… except for flashes of pain and blurs of running through the hallways.

Gamzee's head slowly tilted up, hands going back to the floor to steady himself as his eyes finally looking around the room taking in the surroundings, where the fuck was he? He found himself fighting the hysteria that was steadily rising in him at finding himself half naked in a cold dark room, with hardly enough light to help see even with his night vision, trying to think clearly at this startling new development.

Wait this looked like Karkat's basement…or at least the RUINS of Karkat's basement. Someone-SOMETHING had all but clawed the concrete foundation walls of the building into sunders and flipped various pieces of discarded and now broken furniture about the room. He was still observing the carnage of the room when his hand slipping in something sticky and cold, looking down before his eyes widened and he was yanking his hand back from the blood covered floor.

Blood stained the walls and floor around him in sticky smeared cold puddles, Oh god he hoped it was just his blood and not the splattered rainbow that often haunted his memories and dreams, a faint echo from game.

What finally tipped the scales of hysteria however where the honks and smiley clown faces adorning the floor and walls.

Letting out a strangled shriek he scrambled out of the puddle of dark blood, smearing a slight trail behind him, and scurried backwards trying to get his back to the furthest corner of the room, as though trying to gain an advantage and fight off his own madness. Lurching up off the floor Gamzee paused as he noticed the dragging weight behind him in his frantic retreat from the terror that had wound about him literally, spiralling out in the form of finger painted 'honks' where his unconscious body had laid moments ago.

Whipping around, almost expecting to see the dead body of one of his friends caught up in his pant leg, the last thing he expected to see was a long tail, furred tip twitching subconsciously off the ground, winding down from where his tail bone was and dragging on the ground. Tripping over his already twisted feet he lurched around and landing on his back, trying to twist away from the new appendage like it was a snake attached to him. Tears of panic welling up in his eyes as he started to hyperventilate, trying to make sense of what was happening after he had stopped struggling and frozen on the ground, somehow finding his way to a corner in his panicked struggle and curling up with hands shaking on the sides of his head as though he could block out the blinding panic that consumed him, chest heaving in rapid harsh gasps as the oxygen around him refused to enter his lungs.

"fuck, fuck, fuck, Fuck, KARKAT!" he shrieked at the top of his lungs as he tried to breathe properly though his harsh pants, desperately hoping his morail was nearby and this actually WAS his basement and he wasn't just hallucinating the only sense of safety he had left.

Ears twitching sporadically when he heard a loud scraping across the ceiling and then the sound of a door being opened, the sound of rushed footsteps down the stairs before his morails tired but alert red eyes were glowing through the gloom searching for his outline before resting on his curled up figure in the corner.

"Karkat!" Gamzee wailed reaching out before slumping towards the ground in pain as his rib creaked and cracked loudly in protest at the abuse it had received after his mad scramble into the corner. Eyes still locked on Karkat and whimpering like a kicked dog as a shudder ran through him.

"Gamzee? Oh fuck GAMZEE!" Not hesitating to stride quickly across the room and knelt in front of Gamzee as he hauled him up off the hard ground and gripped Gamzee's arms to keep him in an upright sitting position. Shooshing and papping Gamzee as he shivered and flinched away from every loud sound, eyes wide and ears perking and twitching, that long tail flicking and hitting the ground in anxious thumps.

"Karkat, Karkat why am I here? W-why is there so much blood?! Oh fuck I-I D-didn't..." Gamzee eyes darted about in panic at the walls as though they were closing in on him all the while hyperventilating and trying to keep a lid on his panic.

"Shhh, you didn't hurt anyone Gamzee, everyone's fine" Karkat shooshed harder and pulled Gamzee into a hug to calm himself more rather than Gamzee, relief radiated from him in the fact that Gamzee was back to normal. Staying in that position for a long time till Gamzee's breathing slowed and his heart had stopped trying to beat through his ribcage.

"w-what happened?" Gamzee asked quietly, slumped and calmer in Karkat's arms but still fearing the response either way.

Karkat stiffened, question hanging in the air "I don't know…I just don't know Gamzee, Im just glad your back and ok." Karkat hugged him tightly, trying to ignore how Gamzee winced when he squeezed slightly.

"Back?" Gamzee asked uncertainly, not sure if he wanted to know the answer, before pulling away to look at Karkat "Karkat…please, what happened? What the fuck did I do?" Karkat winced at the question.

"You didn't do anything Gamzee, just… Let's get you cleaned up ok? I'll explain later." Avoiding the question, Karkat tried to help Gamzee to his feet, huffing when Gamzee resisted, trying to keep his back to the wall. He didn't want to leave the safety of the corner, didn't want to face Karkat's fearful gaze when he saw him in the brighter light. Covered in his own blood, tears and smudged paint.

Karkat sighed in exasperation "Gamzee! Move your ass! I want to get you clean BEFORE twelfth Pedigree rocks around!" looking down on Gamzee and running a hand through his hair before continuing in a soft voice pointing up to the hole in the ceiling, "Saw a lot of shit last night, doesn't affect our morailigence in the fucking slightest, now come on, you're covered in shit and you need a scrubbing. And a haircut" Gamzee only stared at his hand before Karkat had to reach down and pull him up out of the corner he was crouched in (no easy feat) and support him.

"See? Not so bad out of that corner now is it?" Karkat huffed under Gamzee's weight before starting off towards the stairs and then the bathroom.

~!~

When Gamzee had seen his reflection in the bathroom's mirror, wild messy hair like a disgruntled mane and make up smudged with the blood from his face, he had almost bowled Karkat over with how fast he lurched away from his reflection. Only to be hauled back by Karkat and shoved under the hot water of the running shower despite his protests at the scolding hot water and Karkat undressing him even as stood there in the torrent of hot water, his clothes thoroughly soaked and steaming slightly at the bottom of the already stained floor.

Karkat set to scrubbing Gamzee's hair out with a bristled brush before giving up and going at it with scissors even with Gamzee still in the shower. After he had cut out the waste length that had grown out from last night he made Gamzee clip his nails as well, seeing as they were MUCH more dangerous looking then they had been before, though not as scary as before. Other than the excess hair and the long nails Gamzee looked almost the same afterwards, as long as you didn't count the fucking TAIL that seemed determined to whack him whenever he brushed through a knot in his wild hair, so he managed to be hit by the fucking thing a couple thousand times, and he was sure that a bruise was blooming on his hip as we speak. Karkat had handled cleaning the cuts that hadn't closed up when he'd turned back with ease, without even a flinch from Gamzee as he worked quickly. But when he had watched Gamzee wash off his makeup something had made Gamzee stiffen, though Karkat couldn't see what. He put it down as another one of Gamzee's old crazy assed religion beliefs. Allowing a small smile to adorn his face as he tried imagining what the human Ten Commandments would have to say if Gamzee had gotten to write them. He imagined they would be somewhere along the lines of _'THOU SHALL NOT REMOVE THE MIRTHFULL PAINT. Unless when slumbering, sloppy make outs, showering or when visiting thee holy Pizza Hut/Taco Bell and needing to wipe the inglorious grease off thy face'_. Probably some shit like that.

It wasn't until much, MUCH later on in the morning that Karkat finally had Gamzee clean and back to normal (although eerily strange without his face paint) and in a pair of leftover sweat pants that Gamzee had left behind like many others of its baggy kind on the many times he had crashed at his hive. Gamzee was sleeping on the couch that had been dragged back into its rightful place in the living room, curled up on his side and tail sticking out of the blanket and over the other side of the couch dangling just off the floor. Karkat's usual scowl softened when he saw him so peaceful, finally coming down from his hysteria when the blood had washed off from his face with his less clingy leftover makeup down the drain in a mix of murky water.

Grumbling he had set an exhausted, very clean, Gamzee down on his couch where he had slumped down instantly like he didn't have bones. Gamzee had tried to stay awake for a while, watching Karkat walk back and forth from the basement with hot water (in a BOWL thank you very much) and mops, curled up on the couch with lidded bloodshot eyes before he guessed Gamzee hadn't been able fight the exhaustion anymore and had proceeded to pass right the fuck out on Karkat's lumpy couch.

This is where Karkat found him when he had finally removed all the blood from the floor and walls and cleaned up the basement to a satisfactory Karkat standard (so the basement was pretty much fucking immaculate by the time he was done) when he sat down at Gamzee's feet on the couch with a sigh and a face palm of exhaustion. Fuck he didn't get enough sleep as it was, and now he had to deal with Gamzee as well. Sidling onto the couch fully and pulling Gamzee's feet onto his lap so that he wasn't just perched on the godamn edge seeing as Gamzee's full 2 meter and then some long body had occupied HIS damn couch.

Karkat felt guilty at his selfish thoughts when Gamzee shifted in his sleep with a wince.

Only to take back the guilt and give some of his more select curses, something about damning Gamzee to the deepest pit of the dream bubbles void and he was pretty sure an insulting slur about his lusus somewhere in there, when Gamzee's tail flicked up and whacked him in the chin.

Growling lowly under his breath he grabbed Gamzee's tail and pinned it in his lap before absent minded running his fingers through the tuft of fur at the end, Gamzee purred softly in his sleep. Fuck they were going to have to bind this new stunning piece of fucking anatomy to his leg or something (He didn't know, curl it round his waist or some shit but point remained it needed to be hidden), because he was sure as fuck Gamzee didn't know how to control it, and if it turned out that he did, Karkat was going to give him a mouthful and a rather HARD pap for the giant red bruise on his hip.

But even if he could get it together enough to stuff it down his pant leg, he couldn't have a fucking unexplained bulge in his pants flicking about occasionally without someone with fucking eyes noticing.

That's all they needed, Gamzee flapping a tail about during breakfast, that'll be fun to explain to everyone _"Oh hey fuckers! So my dickhead morail-oh wait I'll correct myself__**-motherfucking best friend that leaves me to clean up the fucking trashed mess HE made of my fucking basement- **__went ahead and sprouted a tail! Oh yes and he may spontaneously burst into a fucking walking horrorterror that may or may not eat your heart out at any given moment! And not in the good way! so girls please no fawning over the cute tuft of annoyance that has sprouted from my bulgmunching morail's ass and Egbert don't even fucking __think__ of attaching cans to Gamzee's tail"_

Yep that sounded about right.

But what would he do about Gamzee? If he told the others of the state he had been in last night they would view him as a liability and might lock him up or worse, cull his ass right there on the spot. He was being silly in thinking that they would do that but Karkat couldn't risk exposing Gamzee to the others till he was sure of WHAT had caused this and HOW to control, if they COULD control it and how to STOP it.

_*The good ol' WHAT the fuck is this, HOW the fuck did this happen? COULD you stop being such a fuckass and explain, and STOP, Just no. Works every time. Karkat approved*_

Well so far Gamzee looked normal, He hadn't said or done anything to suggest differently. Karkat furrowed his brow but kept toying with the end of his tail, at least they could hide a tail, binding it under long pants and cut long hair away. Thank god the spines seemed to have retreated back into his spine, jaw, and tail. That wouldn't have been so easy to hide OR explain.

Such little things Karkat took for granted it seemed, it still didn't change the fact that he was going to have to either stalk Gamzee's ass wherever he went waiting for something to trigger SOMETHING or he could just miraculously try and keep Gamzee locked up inside away from others until he decided to flip the fuck out and he could delve into what the trigger was. OR he could just use fucking logic and ask Gamzee when he woke up.

Feeling more confident with a plan in action even If it was still in blueprint stage, he allowed himself a few seconds for a nap before he followed Gamzee's lead and fell asleep with Gamzee's tail occasionally twitching in his grasp.

~!~

Karkat woke up fitfully somewhere later in the afternoon, sometime where the sun was in the middle of the sky. Shifting his neck from the awkward angle he had been sleeping in and wincing when he found that the world's most painful knot had formed.

Groaning he groped down to pull Gamzee's legs off when he found that the weight from his legs had vanished and so had Gamzee, looking around almost frantically before remembering that Gamzee wasn't going anywhere soon, and even if he'd gone murder-mode and went off to pillage the village he would have been woken up beforehand by the noise of a rampage.

Getting up he went in search of Gamzee in his small ass apartment.

Seriously how hard was it to find a 2 meter and then some high sweatpant clad troll?

~!~

Gamzee was back in Karkat's bathroom, sitting on the edge of his bathtub and experimenting how much he could move his tail about and generally checking for anything else out of the ordinary. When he had woken up that afternoon he had almost been able to convince himself that everything that had transpired that night had been nothing more than a dream, but the deep ache in his limbs and abdomen disagreed.

Oh, and the long fucking TAIL was another indication that Gamzee was more fucked up then he had thought before.

And the new scars that covered his body that hadn't been there before only convinced him more. They weren't really noticeable, not unless you were intentionally looking out for them. He'd only noticed them because something had throbbed and ached in his jaw when he had brushed a hand over one when he was taking off his makeup, they would be invisible with his makeup on but they were there. Oh yes they were there. A scar that stretched across his face from his lips to jaw like a demonic smile…. And three long scratches across his face like an echo from the game, starting at his brow narrowly missing an eye, over his nose and down near the end of his natural lips and not the 'mirthful smile' the other one had going on, to add to his repute. Almost like those three damned scars were mocking him all over again at his weakness of being unable to protect his friends and instead being their downfall, some of their deaths.

Quickly reaching under the sink and grabbing the spare toiletry bag he always kept at Karkat's just in case he was too lazy to go back to his own apartment whenever he was over. He slathered on a messy layer of grey and white onto his face without technique or caring if it smudged into his hair, he just needed to hide those scars from himself before he lost it.

Oh wait. He already had.

Glancing back at his tail when it flicked forward and knocked the jar of paint off the counter, he glared at it trying to focus on it long enough for it to be still, it was hard to NOT move this new piece of fucking annoyance when he wasn't focused on it. It was like a bad habit, like twiddling his thumbs or sticking his tongue out when he concentrated. It seemed to have a subconscious of its own that was linked to his subconscious, occasionally swaying when he was thinking deeply and flicking randomly about when he was agitated.

Sitting back down and pulling his overnight wait-no-too-lazy-to-walk-back-to-my-hive bag out and rummaged through it until he found the first aid kit that had come with the bag. Silently thanking the annoying store clerk that had followed him around the entire store asking him if he needed help every time he so much as glanced at an item and throwing in the free shit kit with the purchase.

Lining up his tail with his leg, curling it around his leg like a vine so that the extra length wouldn't poke out the bottom, he set to binding it up and tight, not allowing it to flick, sway, freak his friends out or knock shit over. Not noticing Karkat peering around the corner of the door and watching him struggle to hold the twitching end long enough to bind it.

"So you've figured all this shit out then on your own I see? bandages and makeup, flawless" Gamzee started and twisted around, cursing when the bandages slipped even lower down his leg, Karkat leaned against the doorway, arms folded and furrowed eyebrows as he scrutinised Gamzee's plan to apparently keep his tail in check.

"You know im not letting you out of this apartment until you can give me an explanation on whatever the fuck you were doing last night, because im pretty sure that you've figured out that whatever the fuck that was last night, WASN'T caused by an allergy to the dust bunnies in the hallways." Karkat stepped forward and crouched in front of Gamzee, binding the tail swiftly down and tying it a LITTLE too tight to be necessary. Wincing slightly Gamzee moved his leg away before Karkat could tighten it anymore and risk cutting off blood circulation in his leg and…tail.

"I don't know what motherfucking went down last night Karkat but I can't help but agree with ya" leaning against the counter and stretching his leg out with his eyes scrunched shut as he tried to work some of the tightness out so that the wraps weren't pinching so much. "One minute Im fine and fucking dandy, over the moon even… and the next im tearing down the hallways and into your lovin' arms and basement"

"That can't have been everything Gamzee! Did anything happen at Dave's party? After I left?"

Tightening his grip on the sink he flushed slightly at the VERY vivid memory of his and Tavros's moment "…Back at the party. I… I met up with Tavros just after I left you at your apartment. We may have gotten tangled up in the bathroom…"

"What?! You PAILED Tavros in a fucking BATHROOM?" Karkat exclaimed and recoiled slightly in shock.

"No, it didn't get that far or anything, just sloppy make outs and…matesprite confessions. I was just about to get my own voice box kicking when…I don't know THIS happened." Gamzee's voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

Karkat rubbed his temple softly; Gamzee wasn't going to be any kinds of happy at the only solution he could think of. "…I can't let you near Tavros then Gamzee." Watching as Gamzee's grip almost cracked through his wood counter.

"WHAT?" Gamzee snarled, tail almost ripping its way out of the binding with the rage that filled Gamzee at the thought of not being able to even talk to Tavros. He was surprised at how quickly he had found himself snarling at his best friend. Trying to quell the sudden burning anger in the pit of his stomach before he did anything rash, but he couldn't help it. The idea was the very opposite of a miracle.

The least Tavros deserved was a fucking explanation, he deserved at LEAST that.

"Fucking think Gamzee! Don't you think that maybe this is the sort of thing you need to avoid? Think! Maybe your body was reacting to your excitement or some shit and THAT is what is going to happen now whenever you're near him or anything that riles you up!" Karkat's voice steadily rising in frustration.

"Unless you hadn't noticed, EVERYONE was riled up last night, im not avoiding Tavros just because he MIGHT be the cause of this." Stalking over, not even caring about the fact he was now outright snarling and yelling at Karkat, and looming over him trying to get him to submit.

Karkat didn't back down or even flinch, puffing himself up and retaliating "GAMZEE IM NOT RISKING EVERYONES LIVES JUST BECAUSE YOUR A SELFI- wait. Everyone was riled up yesterday… Fuck Gamzee, maybe…" Karkat stopped mid shout and darted out of the bathroom, leaving a very confused Gamzee behind, standing in silence for several seconds. Grumbling and following slowly after him trying to get used to the pinching on his leg and calmed down from his outburst, he could at least finish shouting at him before rushing off so he had more of a fucking clue to what Karkat's 'amazing revelation was.

"Karkat?" Gamzee called, fuck how hard was It to lose a hardly over a 1.4m high troll in an apartment this small.

Turning a corner to his room he found Karkat sitting at his husktop typing furiously into the search engine, grumbling nonsense under his breath. Gamzee stood in silence a few meters behind him, catching brief mutters from Karkat.

"'Last night earth events'…Kim Kardashian?! the fuck? NO!...full moon? 'Full moon'….Gravitational pull? 'Pressure of gravitational pull during full moon'….The same as on Alternia..." Karkat swivelled around in his chair and stared at Gamzee.

"I think we've got ourselves a clue."

~!~

An hour later Gamzee found himself outside Tavros's apartment door, Bumping into Nepeta along the war and trying to ignore her pointedly as she excitedly reeled off what had happened after he had left, not paying any attention until she mentioned a fight.

"Fight? What fight?" Nepeta stopped mid ramble and pouted "It was pawsitivly awful! But at least they made up afterwards and Vriska took him back to her hive." Gesturing widely at how 'pawsitivly awful' it had been, Gamzee hadn't had the slightest clue what the fuck she was going on about. Before he could ask she had darted off over to Equius who was going down to the shops to get more groceries with Kanaya.

Gamzee took a deep breath to quell the anxiety that rose in his chest at the thought of even showing his face in front of Tavros after last night. Closing his eyes he tried to gather the courage to knock on the door, shit should he be here? Tavros was more than likely going to take his mad escape last night as a rejection of matespritship.

And he wasn't here to make that any better. Gamzee couldn't let Tavros get hurt from this, No it would be safer for Tavros if he was as far away as possible as he could get with someone he lived in the same building with and had been through so much with.

Gritting his teeth he knocked the door.

_"Ok Gamzee if im right, and I really fucking hope im right, then this is only ever going to happen every month or so. But then there's the other option that you just got too excited or riled up. Which means that where going to have to watch your temper in public. Im going to repeat that again, NO GETTING MEGA PISSED OFF AT ANYONE. Im not risking everyone's safety after all we've been through just because someone mentions ICP._

_"And I hate to say it, but I think that staying away from Tavros might be the best option here." Karkat sighed leaning back into his chair, he was more than surprised when Gamzee visibly deflated as if someone had stuck him with a pin. _

_Gamzee's shoulders slumped in defeat "I can't all up and do that bro. He deserves at least an explanation." _

_"Gamzee, you can't tell him"_

_"I know, I'll think of something"_

_"…fine, but we can't afford another screw up"_

_"It's going to be all right Karkat"_

_Karkat sighed "For everyone's sakes I hope your right" _

The minute of silence and rustling as someone was making their way to the door from the apartment were torturous. Standing there awkwardly as he waited impatiently and suppressed the urge to just gap it and take the easy 'just ignore your matesp-'no they WERENT matesprites, weren't matesprites, weren't matesprites, weren't mates- probably wouldnt even be friends after thi-

Tavros finally answering the door, effectively snapping him out of his thinkpans turmoil. Tavros just stood there, staring up at him like he had just grown a tail- oh yeah.

Snapping back to attention yet again and focusing on Tavros before any words that had been in his mouth dried up and floated right the fuck away at the sight of Tavros's teary orange eyes and bags that he could only assume were his fault.

shit he couldn't do this, shit, shit, shit.

_Protect Tavros, keep Tavros, lose Tavros, lie to Tavros, love Tavros, kill Tav- NO._

"Tav-"

~ O-O ~

**_Next chapter in Tavros's perspective! For those asking the question of _**_'Why am I an utter asshole who didn't just put the next little bit in this chapter?! ENOUGH WITH THE CLIFFHANGERS!' __**Sorry guys but if im going to keep turning these things out every few days or so I gotta keep my old "ALWAYS have the next chapter or possibly two ready to turn out at deadline time" motto which I've broken twice already going from 3 days to 6 days to whoops 8 days so fuck, think im gonna turn out one every *few* weeks, that way there's always one ready so I split these 2 chapters in two so that I've got 2 backups to upload in case (like I have been so often) I can't upload or im to lazy.**_

**_R&R needed to feed my imagination which is currently shivering in the corner of the room and asking "sir please, I want some more" to which I reply "MORE?!" *author's notes are now almost as long as the story! Yay blatant attempt at lengthening the word count!*_**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL! _**


	7. Why cant I stay away from you?

**_AaAaAaAnD, ThE lAzY bItCh AlL uP aNd PoStEd ANoThEr ChApTeR! _**

**_uHH, FEEL FREE TO LEAVE A REVIEW,,,, iF YOU WANT TOO THAT IS…._**

**_May have lied a tad when I said this entire chapters from Tavros's point of view because well, GAMZEE! Seriously he is the only character I am even moderately good at writing… besides Karkat cause hell I can go all day with my VERY colourful language, (no need to be boastful) my creative a language reached a new time high when one peaceful day a football flew towards me on the LUNCH hill, rebounded off my face, hit my laptop, broke my B button and my glasses. Shit went DOWN. oh you shall be avenged my precious B button!(SERIOUSLY THERE WAS AN OVAL LESS THAN TEN METERS AWAY. WILL PEOPLE STOP PLAYING ON THE FUCKING HILL; I WANT TO EAT WITHOUT RISKING A CONCUSSION!)_**

**_Oh and before I forget ANOTHER anon reviewer asked me for smut (people have been reviewing this piece of shit, holy crap sandwiches*GASP* your all wonderful and I shall be filling up ALLLLLLL the fangirl jars of tears for you all and sending them out) of COURSE there will be smut! This story is pretty much mapped out in my head and, oh yes, there will be smut, but you see my brain has only thought of the major events. So all this in-between stuff is, and honestly I can't even lie here, some of the most cruel and mindless filler ever to exist in a story. Oh and the Authors block don't help in the fucking slightest._**

**_Chapter 7: Why can't I stay away from you?_**

Tavros had about three seconds to register the fact that Gamzee was standing outside his door, looking as though he had just been hit by a train and then rolled down a gully and staring out into the distance like he was stoned off his brain and the wall held all the answers to the universe, before he was glaring at the Capricorn as though he could burn a hole through his chest.

"Tav-" Gamzee didn't get to finish his sentence though because the next minute Tavros was slamming the door in his face, only wincing a little when Gamzee honked loudly from the other side of the door as it nicked his nose, locking the door as loudly as he could just to get his point across. He did NOT want to see Gamzee right now, He did NOT want to speak to Gamzee and he certainly did NOT want Gamzee in his hive. Hell the fact that he had the nerve to show his face after avoiding him for an entire day. He'd even gone looking for Gamzee at one point, not because he was worried, no fuck that…maybe a little…

Gamzee groaned softly clutching his nose with one hand before leaning against the very same door that had assaulted him seconds before. He'd been beaten up enough in the past 12 hours and now doors where definitely going on his motherfucking list.

"Tav, Tavros please? let me in." Pressing his ear against the door Gamzee rapped lightly against the door with his sore knuckles.

Tavros turned his back and leant on the door crossing his arms, dead set on ignoring Gamzee till he left.

"I know you're there Tav! Please, we need to talk!" Gamzee called louder, he could hear Tavros's heartbeat through the door and it sent shivers down his spine as it pounded away like a little Flamenco in his little miracles chest- _no not his little miracle, stop thinking that_.

"There's nothing to talk about! Go away!" Tavros barked out bitterly before he could stop himself_, 'Oh way to go Tavros_' that silence lasted what? Ten seconds? Just. Champion.

"Please Tav, I know your angry at me and you have every reason to be but just…just let me explain" Tavros slid down the door to the floor, trying not to break down there and then and just let Gamzee in, god knows he wanted to see Gamzee face. But DAMNIT! He was still angry at him!

"Tavros im not going anywhere till you at least fucking talk to me" Gamzee threatened in a low growl before cutting it off abruptly, shit this is exactly what Karkat had told him to avoid. Whimpering and setting his forehead against the door he pleaded one last time.

"Please Tavros, at least talk to me"

Tavros ears flicked back at hearing Gamzee's distress, but he made no move to open the door. "If whatever you're going to say is that important than you can tell me here, right?" looking back as far as he could without hitting his horns on the door. Sighing Gamzee closed his eyes, _he didn't want to do this, he had to do this, fuck he couldn't do this_.

"Tavros…I-I… what happened last night…we…we can't be together" he squeezed his eyes shut, perking his ears around desperately trying to hear what Tavros was doing. Oh god he couldn't hear Tavros's breath anymore, but he could sure as fuck hear his heartbeat kick up to a whole over level through the door.

Tavros was holding his hand to his mouth, bile rising in his throat as the words that Gamzee had just uttered sunk in. Can't be together, Can't be with Gamzee. As in didn't want to see him. No. no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO. This couldn't be happening.

"W-what? But… you said…Im not angry about last night, really!-" Tavros started desperately, getting up on his knees and turning to face the door.

"Bro, we can't all up and be matesprites. It would be better if you stayed away from me" Gamzee flinched at how heartless his words sounded, especially in the dead monotone that he couldn't remove from his voice. But he had decided in that moment that the best thing to do was cut all ties from Tavros, and he had to make sure Tavros wouldn't see any doubt in his decision to cut all ties with him.

"D-don't I even get an explanation?" Tavros choked out, trying to keep as much anguish as he could out of his voice but failing miserably. "Don't I e-Even get a reason?!" Gamzee couldn't be telling him to stay away from him. He couldn't, it wasn't possible and he wouldn't believe it. Not without a reason.

The silence outside the door was agonising. Gamzee wouldn't even give him a reason, Tavros's ears perking straight up at the soft sounds of Gamzee turning away. He was going to walk away, without answering him, just walk right out of his life and not look back.

Not on his fucking watch he wasn't.

Standing as quickly as he could on his metal legs he all but ripped the locks off the door with how hard he yanked it open. Tackling Gamzee to the ground and landing on top of him with his teeth bared slightly, almost orange-brown eyes staring desperately into his violet purple ones.

"So what was that yesterday?! Just a one night stand for you? Didn't it mean a-ANYTHING?!" Tavros's voice quivering when all Gamzee did was lay there silently underneath him and stare through him as though he was made of glass and he could look right through him.

"Why won't you answer me? Did I do something wrong? God-Is it because im not good enough?! Not high enough on the spectrum? Not strong enough?! Or am I just too pathetic for y-you to even look at anymore Gamzee!?" Snarling through his chocked sobs and leaning almost close enough to kiss Gamzee.

"No Tavros, it's not y-"Gamzee started sitting up without flinching at the snarling Taurus on top of him. Tavros pushed Gamzee roughly back down with a thump "Then what Gamzee?! WHAT THEN? W-why are you pushing me away?" Tavros demanded, tears gathering in his eyes but he refused to let them fall.

Gamzee couldn't do this, _had to do this_, but god it tore him almost apart to have Tavros holding him down and screaming for answers he couldn't give. Squeezing his eyes shut as his blank mask fazed for a moment as he fought the tears that tried to make their way down his freshly painted face he leaned forward and closed the distance between them and kissing Tavros desperately, _god he couldn't_- he needed at least this. Just once more.

Tavros stiffened and pulled back shocked, confused gaze on Gamzee but hope glittering in his eyes for a second before being crushed by Gamzee's emotionless gaze. Inside however Gamzee was raging a silent war with himself. He desperately wanted to explain everything to Tavros. For Tavros to at least know he hadn't just been a one night fling, that he meant so much more. But he couldn't, god he couldn't. He would rather that Tavros hate him than get hurt. And even though he was hurting Tavros so much now, making him want to rip out his heart for making Tavros hurt like this and give Tavros that very same heart just for the slightest chance of seeing Tavros smile again, It was a thousand times better than never being able to see that smile again. Even if that meant that he wasn't the one who caused Tavros to be happy.

"We can't be together Tavros… just forget anything ever happened between us last night, just stay away from me."

"But w-why? Why are you pushing me away?! I-I can be better, I can be a better morail Gamzee!, I can be a better matespr-"

"I WAS NEVER FLUSHED FOR YOU TAVROS" Gamzee snarled through clenched teeth, Pushing himself up and out from under Tavros who fell back, sitting with his new legs splayed awkwardly out and his arms limply hanging between them, staring at the ground where Gamzee had just been with blank wide eyes, tears trailing down his face without interruption.

"...all the t-things you said to me… during the Game, before the game…y-you were there for me…and then you weren't Gamzee…where did you go?...why did you l-leave?" looking up and seeing that Gamzee had turned his back on him and was walking slowly away from him. "YOU SAID YOU'D ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME." Tavros screamed out despairingly, crushed by Gamzee's rejection and utter betrayal of trust.

Tavros's scream echoed through the hallway, Gamzee stopped as his heart did. His head down to hide the pain as Tavros who sat in the middle of the corridor, tears streaming down his face and eyes pleading for him to come back. Trying to put his mask of cruel indifference back on he looking back over his shoulder at Tavros, hoping that his gaze was as blank and hollow as he felt.

"I lied"

Turning away quickly before Tavros could see the pain flare in his eyes he walking away. Out of Tavros's life, protecting Tavros from himself.

Tavros watched as he walked around the corner and out of his sight, sitting silently in that corridor staring at the corner where Gamzee had vanished, musing bitterly over his silent sobs that shook his shoulders.

Their matespritship had failed before it had even started.

~!~

Gamzee took the stairs almost six at a time towards his hive as he sprinted up them, he needed to get away from Tavros and to his hive before he turned his ass right the fuck around and just went back to Tavros, confessed to his lies and beg for him ba-

What was he saying, he couldn't beg for something back if they had never been anything.

Making it to the his floor he slowed down, panting irregularly as he slumped against the door leading to the floors complex with a thump loud enough to alert anyone in the hallway of his presence. He felt like screaming, everything was going wrong. Earth was supposed to be their escape and it had just ended up being yet another hell for Gamzee.

Darting quickly down the hallway and heaving his door open he stumbled into his apartment. His thinkpan was a jumbled mess of emotions and instincts, each clamouring and echoing about in his head for clarity before combusting. Rejecting a matesprite that wasn't unrequited went against nearly every instinct in his body, but he knew this was the only way to ensure Tavros's safety.

Legs unable to hold him up any more he crumpled onto the floor next to his kitchen counter. Everything was going to shit before his eyes. His own body had become foreign and treacherous to him, not to mention the people around him. He was a motherfucking monster.

Gritting his teeth and snarling suddenly as another bout of unexpected hate coursed through him, though this time it was directed towards himself. Why was he so fucking stupid as to think that this wouldn't happen again after what had happened on the asteroid? He was going to kill them all. And all because of his grand fucked up self.

_AGAIN._

Flicking his wrists out and slashing at his own leg when the furred tip of his tail flicked and spooked him. That MOTHERFUCKING THING was going to be his downfall, he was sure of it. Snapping his head up and looking around the room his snarling ebbed into silence as his eyes fell onto the knife rack on his kitchen counter.

Standing up and walking slowly towards it with measured caution he reached out and drew one of the larger slightly serrated knives. Running the tip of his finger over it to test its sharpness and catching a glimpse of his reflection. Somewhere in his little freak out his eyes had slitted and where now an orange red, tightening his grip on the knife he walked towards his bathroom with new conviction.

He was going to deal with this.

And he was going to take ANY measure to make sure that his friends never found out about this.

Knife hanging non-hazardously at his side he made his way into the bathroom and knelt on the floor. Looking at the blade and testing its sharpness again before reaching out and grabbing one of his smaller towels and twisting it to make a gag and holding it in his teeth, already making little holes in it with his sharp fangs. Unbinding the bandage roughly and yanking his tail forward he pinned it on the ground in front of him as he knelt on the floor. Positioning the knife as close to the base of the length that he could reach he paused and squeezed his eyes shut, rethinking what he was about to do and the consequences of blindly cutting off a limb but god- He wanted it GONE. Didn't want this to remind him every single time he moved and felt bandages rub against his leg till it chaffed raw and bled. He didn't want it reminding him that he was a monster. A monster that terrified even Karkat. A monster that could hurt sweet Feferi, Jade or Nepeta. Scare even Equius, Dave or Vriska. Not think for a second before maiming Sollux, Aradia or John. Run down a blind Terezi or pin Eridan to a wall and tear his throat out. Cause panic for the ever calm Kanaya Rose or Aradia. Kill Tavros and paint the walls with his blood.

Opening his eyes and gripping the towel tightly in his clenched jaw he brought the knife down into the new flesh of his tail.

The only thing that had kept Gamzee from screaming himself hoarse in those first few jagged slices had been the towel that was gradually being ripped to shreds in his mouth. Tears didn't fall down his face as he sliced through muscle and tendons, the only sound he made where the muffled cries into the rag, but god did he scream when the knife met with bone. Shuddering violently and stopping, clenching his jaw to cut off the short scream that had escaped he looking down through the bloody mess of his tail in pained confusion. What? He couldn't have gotten that far yet? Why had he hit bone? Spitting the useless torn towel out and almost wailing as he shifted closer to see what the fuck he had run into. Gamzee's pupils contracting even more as he saw a series of laid down spikes that ran through the spine of the tail like fucking chainmail.

Panicking and slashing at random through the gash, cutting down his tail in a desperate attempt to find a weak spot before he was crying out loudly in pain and hurling the knife away as though it was made of burning hot metal. Wailing cries rebounding and echoing around his bathroom unfiltered by cloth as he clutched the torn and bloodied flesh of his tail. In a last ditch effort to get the job done he tried to dig his claws past the spikes before he jerked his tail away from the searing hot pain he was inflicting on himself. Panting and sobbing brokenly, he just wanted to curl up and die. Smiling through his pain as the pleasant thought crossed his mind.

Maybe he should? Just curl up here and let himself slowly bleed to death? Let his friends find his body and do what they will with it. He felt his eyelids slowly start to droop and his body start to go numb. He felt peaceful at least, knowing that he couldn't hurt anyone now. He wished that the ground wasn't sucking his warmth away though even that was ok. He let himself fall deeper into the happier memories in his thinkpan as numbness overcame him, even letting a few random thoughts breeze through his thinkpan. _He hoped everyone he loved would be happy, maybe now they could be… maybe Tav or Karkat would even occasionally spare him a good thought._

~!~

_Somewhere in the universe on a planet called Alternia, it was raining softly on a beach as a small troll of about 4 and a half sweeps sat at the base of a cliff on a sea soaked rock and stared out at the ocean. Said little troll had never gone this far from his hive before, but then again, who was going to tell him to stay home? Wasn't like his lusus was going to tell him otherwise. Sniffing softly and rubbing a tiny fist over tired eyes, he wished his lusus was there to tell him off. At least he would have been there then. Pulling his fist away from his face and staring down at the white that was splattered and running from the rain he frowned. Shit, he'd smudged his wicked paint, as though the rain hadn't done that already, wiping his hands of the white smudges on his baggy shirt. It had only been a few months since he'd been into the cavernous libraries and Gamzee was already back to the same old routine of fending for himself again, though he wasn't quite as alone as before. Sometimes he would pay Karkat a visit, but not often seeing as his lusus REALLY didn't motherfucking like him none, maybe he thought he was a bad example?_

_Scowling down at his reflection in a rock pool at how much of a disarray his face paint was in from where the rain had smudged it and his earlier moping had caused it rub off. He sighed, great he was going to have to take a motherfucking dip in the abulation trap to get this shit off his clothes but he wasn't going to be able to get back to his hive for a full day. _

_A huge wave interrupting his thoughts as it rushed up on him, crashing against the rock he was sitting on and soaked him from head to toe. Hair now soaking wet and in his face, White smudging and running down his face with the salty water. Despite his previous bad mood he slipped off the rock and made towards the sea with a grin, believing 100% that Goatdad might just have sent that wave to tell him that he didn't need an abulation trap when the ocean was right there to wash it off for him. Pulling off his baggy shirt and tucking his pant legs up slightly so they wouldn't drag him down as much, he slipped into the cold water._

_Of the many things Gamzee's lusus didn't teach him, Goatdad did teach Gamzee something incredibly useful. Gamzee was one of the few land trolls that could actually swim, and quite gracefully for that matter, he slid through the water like he had fins and could hold his breath for an exceptionally long time. If any troll where to see him now he would have been hard to distinguish from a seadweller had it not been for the obvious lack of fins or flashy scales. Sometimes Gamzee DID wish he had been born with just a shade higher than his already high blood. Not for the respect or ,god forbid, the extra responsibilities and duties, maybe it was the possibility that he could have tagged along with Goatdad to wherever he went when he left Gamzee alone, somewhere far out into the ocean where he didn't dare swim out to. But what he thought truly made him wish that he could make a home of the waves had to be the calm peace that washed over him whenever he was swimming. Resurfacing and taking a deep breath before kicking his heels up and diving deeper he opened his eyes as he got closer to the colourful coral that ringed the bottom of the cliff as he slowly descended in lazy spirals. _

_Once at the bottom he scrubbed the makeup off with a handful of sand and set out exploring, might as well, he had never been to this cove before and he was eager to find any hidden caves or new types of coral. _

_Finding a few caves and coves but striking gold when he found a whole underwater cavern, opening into a spacious air bubble, roof lit up with the luminescent bodies of glow worms and other glowy shit that hung from the walls and made everything a light fluorescent blue. Deciding to remember this cove for later exploring another night he took a deep breath of slightly dank but fresh air and dove back down _

_After spending a little while swimming amongst the colourful coral he got hungry and attempted to catch fish. Upon failing to catch the sleek fuckers with his hand he came apon a slower and rather feisty cuttlefish that had managed to evade his grasp twice before he finally caught up with it. As he was about to grab it for the third, and ultimately the last time, when something heavy hit his head and startled him from his chase as the cuttlefish swam away with smug bubbles trailing after it. Flitting around nervously through the water Gamzee was hesitant to go back and investigating what had hit him. Finally circling back to the sea bed, he picked up the heavy shell and frowned while trying not to let too many annoyed bubbles cloud his vision, what the fuck? There were no ledges this could have fallen down from? And he was too far from the cliff face for something this heavy to have fallen from the edge and hit him. Was some fucker up there throwing shit? _

_Excitement leapt in Gamzee's throat before he quelled his hopes. He would just get disappointed if he humoured the idea of a troll up there. Quickly resurfaced a little from shore, gasping for breath as silently as he could, shit he'd stayed down WAY longer than he usually did, he slipped behind a rock. Making sure to stay partly submerged in the water and hidden behind the rock before he peered around hearing the sound of another splash._

_Gamzee's eyes widened, well there definitely WAS someone there. He'd expected some asshole lusus or some other beast to be throwing around rocks and other debris. To say that he was more than surprised to see a troll about his age sitting cross legged on the very edge of the shore and staring out at the ocean, lap full of shells and flat stones that he occasionally skipped or dropped into the deep depression of water just to watch it swirl down until he couldn't see it anymore was an understatement. Gamzee was transfixed by this troll, trying to remember where he had seen him before. Well he knew WHERE he had seen this troll before (the library caverns he wasn't that much of an idiot to forget so soon) though all he remembered of seeing him was the two large horns that had been poking out from under a pile of sheltered rubble as he had poured over his ancestors journal. Gamzee didn't know this trolls name, or hell what he was even like all, but for some reason he was drawn to this troll. Maybe it was the way he sat and carried himself, maybe it was the way his eyes followed the every rock and shell as it spiralled down with eyes wide of wonder and fantasy as thought there was more to what he was doing than just dropping stones into water and watching them sink like he was witnessing a miracle. _

_Or maybe he was just unbelievably bored._

_Before he could ponder any more the troll stood up and brushed his pants off for sand and turned to walk away. Gamzee watched him go, walking along the slippery cliff face with ease as he started off for the winding path that he guessed led to his hive. _

_Probably would have found out too had he the time to watch, had not a vast shudder shook the earth and cause the sea to give a violent churn and the two trolls to freeze. _

_SHIT, this was not a good time to be in the water. Hedidnt know if there was a storm further out at sea or if two custodians where fighting down there and had smashed into the sea floor or if Feferi had refused to eat her green weeds again. It didn't matter, all he knew was there was a wave storm coming. And it was going to be motherfucking HUGE._

_Normally Gamzee would have booked it out of there faster than you could say "motherfuckers, hit the deck!" dived as low as he could and tried to grip a column of coral or if he was lucky some ancient stone until the first wave had crashed overhead and subsided, safe enough for him to book it back up again in time to make a mad dash for land. But he couldn't bring himself to leave the troll that was currently staring out to sea as he saw the first monster wave approaching the cliff face, standing frozen with fear against the cliff face as smaller waves began to build up and lap at his already soaked legs. Rousing himself from his fear and making a desperate attempt to reach the winding path, weaving and slipping through the rocks as he ran before slipping completely and falling back into the churning water as Gamzee watched with shocked eyes. Resurfacing with a chocking gasp as the wave pulled him just out of reach to grab the edge, the troll flailing slightly as the choppy high waves made it even harder for him to stay surfaced. It was more than obvious that this troll couldn't swim, more than obvious that there was no chance of this troll surviving._

_Gamzee didn't even think about his own safety. Swimming as fast as he could against the dragging current and getting buffeted about he finally reached the troll just as he was sagging down, exhausted from keeping himself above the water with the tide and his cloths dragging him down. Gripping the troll under the arms and keeping him afloat, Trying not to knock his head on the large horns when the troll bucked in surprise at being grabbed. Gamzee looked around panicked, shit shit SHIT, where the fuck was he supposed to go with this guy?! It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to hold his breath underwater for any more than thirty seconds, Gamzee well knowing that ten seconds up on the surface could seem like a thousand sweeps down under the pressing weight of the ocean, and he didn't have time to haul both their asses back to the shore and even if he did they would just be smashed against the jagged cliff face as the waves hit. But if Gamzee didn't do something soon, they would both be either drowned, or a form of mashed pulp on the side of the cliff. And this trolls squirming to get out of his hold wasn't helping either. _

_"FUCK, stop moving!" he shouted over the swell, the troll freezing obediently but shivering violently, not being able to turn his head and see the wave or him but he could sure as fuck hear it coming towards them and Gamzee's frustrated growls._

_"Ok motherfucker, take the deepest breath you can and hold it!" Gamzee ordered, troll giving him a fearful glance at what he was planning but did as he was told. Waiting for him to suck in a chest full of air Gamzee tugged them both under the water and started swimming along the cliff face. The troll had his eyes clenched and was trying his best not to breathe in and choke on the water as his lungs started to ache from lack of air._

_Gamzee was frantically surveying the dark depts, shit it had been around here somewhere! He didn't have the luxury of time on his hands. As the troll he was holding started to struggle again he found what he had been looking for._

_Changing his course abruptly he swam through the opening in the stone and swam along the twisting tunnel, resurfaced seconds later in the same dank smelling cave he had found earlier. The troll tore himself from his grip and gasped in a frantic lungful the second they surfaced and clawed at the edge, hauling himself partly up onto the lip of the hole with his waist still in the water panting. Gamzee hauled himself fully up out of the pool and rolled on his back panting, shit he hadn't swam that hard for ages and never having to tow a motherfucker along with him!_

_Perking his ears he listened for any sign that the first wave had pasted or even hit yet when a shudder ran through the cave and the water at the lip of the rock pool lapped up, lifting the still panting troll at least ten centimetres up past the water mark with the force in which it struck. Chuckling quietly over the roaring ocean as the first onslaught of waves hit the shore as he panted, he realised that he had just worked his ass off and saved a troll he didn't even know the name of._

_"So… After all that do I at least get your fuckin' name?" Gamzee inquired, though it was a bit more of a wheeze seeing as he was still panting from the exertion, seemed this soggy mohawked bro wasn't doing much better either as he followed Gamzee's example and with a little bit of flailing pulled himself up and rolled onto the damp floor next to Gamzee._

_"Tavros" he finally managed to croak out over his pants. "And im pretty glad that you turned up when you did!..." Tavros let the sentence drag out in a question looking over at him, not knowing who to thank for dragging him to safety, even if that had meant getting horrendously wet._

_"Gamzee" He finished for Tavros and looking over as well only to be met with Tavros's puzzled gaze._

_"What? I got seaweed in my hair or somethin'?" Reaching up a tired hand to check just in case, fuck not again, that shit was the worst to get out, getting their fucking tangle on with his hair._

_"O-oh no nothing like that! Just…where are your fins?"_

_"My what?" _

_"Y-your fins! You know." He broke off and weakly made an imitation of fins with his hands next to his ears, flapping them for enthuses._

_"Nah bro! I Aint no seadweller!" Gamzee laughed. _

_Tavros smiled softly, as though relieved, but then frowned "But…H-how can you swim like that if you aren't a sea troll?" Tavros rubbed the back of his head, it was obvious that he felt rude for asking but the way Gamzee could swim seemed to intrigue him._

_"Ahh, not only pretty, but also a smart motherfucker too!" Gamzee joked unaware of the rust blush that it sent down Tavros's face at the innocent teasing. "My old lusus, Goatdad, all up and taught me, one of the only things he ever stayed around long enough for" Not meaning for the words to be so bitter, but he couldn't help but trust Tavros, which was crazy seeing as the only over time they had so much as seen each other was back in the library caverns and even then Gamzee had only gotten a look at his candy corn horns peeking out of a rubble stack._

_"Oh? W-why? Where does he go?" Tavros looked beyond embarrassed asking, but he decided to take it with a grain of salt._

_"Dunno, somewhere out there in the motherfucking ocean, don't have a fuckin' clue what he all up and does though" Gamzee shrugged indifferent._

_"W-well he must have been a pretty G-good swimmer than! Cause he must have passed some Uh, sick skills down to you to be able to swim like that!" Tavros smiled, deciding to take this conversation up a lighter alleyway._

_Gamzee beamed, he wasn't used to praise, and he found he liked it, as well as the company of another troll over the many beasts that he had tried and failed to make friends with in the forest fringing his hive. For a long time, all conversation ceased and the only sound to break the silence was the breathless panting of the two trolls as they tried to get their breath back._

_As they came down from the initial adrenalin rush and regained oxygen they spent a few minutes simply trading information back and forth between them. Things like how Tavros did actually live up on the cliff and his Lusus was probably going to throw a fit at him for going down near the ocean again. How Gamzee lived by the ocean so he could go swimming whenever he wanted and had a one wheel device that he had actually managed to ride for more than three seconds . Tavros announcing as boastfully as he could through his stutters that he could summon animals. When Gamzee hadn't believed him and told him to prove it with an easy-going smile Tavros had pouted in consideration before scrunching his eyes up and holding up a hand for Gamzee to wait a sec, opening his eyes in triumph after a while and turning to face a nestled corner in the back full of rocks holding his hands up to his temples, humming slightly in concentration before a small grey crab scuttled out from under the rocks and scuttled sideways over to where they were sitting. Tavros grinned mischievously before standing up with his hands out in front of him like a master magician about to perform their master trick as Gamzee had to hold a hand over his mouth to contain his hysterical giggles at the tiny crab watching Tavros like he was god or something._

_"NOW TINY CRAB! YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BY THE…uh… UH THE MIGHTY TAVROS! YOU WILL DO MY BIDDING AND GO FORTH TO CARRY OUT MY ORDERS AND ANYTHING I MIGHT,,,,,DECREE! BOW TINY CRAB!" Tavros exulted in a (if you spared the stutters) booming voice._

_Said 'tiny crab that must go forth to do his masters bidding' had lost interest and had been scuttling around halfway through his orders before scuttling side to side and faced Tavros with quick movements that made its legs blur. After Tavros visibly blanched from the sheer ferocity of the crab's humourless cold gaze it lifted its claws into the air and clacked angrily a couple of times before scuttling off back into the shelter of the rocks. Gamzee hadn't even bothered holding in his loud honking laughter as the crab scuttled away with a striking resemblance to Karkat flipping someone off._

_"AAAHAHAHA! IT'S A TINY __**KARKRAB!**__ BAAHAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" Tavros laughed as well, falling to the floor next to Gamzee as he imagined the angry troll, scuttling around and clicking his hands together while hoarding piles of pebbles._

_The storm above them was lasting longer than Gamzee had expected and unlike the warm *to him* constant temperature of the ocean, the cave was starting to make him shiver from the constant temperature dips as each new wave stirred up the wind outside and blew in from above in the small openings in the cave roof. Tavros with his warmer blood didn't notice the temperature drop as much as Gamzee, looking over and seeing Gamzee more curled up and shivering without even a shirt to warm him (though shirts at this point would be useless seeing as they were, well, soaking wet)._

_Tavros stood up and sat next to Gamzee closer than they had gotten yet and, although hesitantly, pressed against him. Gamzee looking shocked for a second, he had assumed that Tavros would all up and want to stay as far away from him in the cold cave because A. He was still soaking wet and B. Well he wouldn't exactly want to snuggle up to anyone who had just dragged them down into the depths of the ocean and into a drippy cave._

_Tavros sensed Gamzee discomfort and smiled shakily through his own embarrassment. "Hey you saved my life, the least I can do is make sure you don't freeze to death" Tavros hesitated before bringing his arms ups slowly and wrapping them around Gamzee's shoulders, man Gamzee was freezing! How high up the Hemospectrum was Gamzee…_

_When Tavros couldn't stop Gamzee's shivers even with his warm body he started to worry a little, what if Gamzee actually froze in here? Well…he could think of one way to warm him up… but he'd need both his hands._

_Unwrapping his arms from Gamzee with a disgruntled yelp from where he'd been dozing against Tavros, giving him a bleary confused stare and watching confused as Tavros got up and walked around near one of the piles of rubble. Pulling away at two pieces of washed up drift wood that had somehow gotten into the cave until they snapped and then pulling some of the luminescent blue plant from the wall. Making a little mound in front of where Gamzee was still sitting with a mightily confused look on his face. "What a-are you doing? T-trying to start a fire with your hands or somethin' Tav?" Gamzee joked, teeth chattering and chopping up his speech, shit would Tav just lean against him again! He was so warm… how low did he have to be to have miraculously a warm temp like that?_

_Turning from his work and grinning at Gamzee "T-That's exactly what Im going to do!" Tavros looked down away from Gamzee, he needed to focus! He didn't want to burn anything… again… _

_Rubbing his hands together he furrowed his brow in concentration and poked his tongue out subconsciously. He continued like this until he felt the small jolt of a spark run up his arm and leap out of his hand in a sharp but quiet crackle before cupping his hand to 'catch' the spark, blowing on it slightly to bring it to life. Holding it in his palm for a moment till it was stronger before setting it down gently onto the blue plant and encouraging it to catch onto the driftwood under it. "See, my sick fires, uh, can't be compared!" Tavros practically beamed as he sat back down next to Gamzee as the fire quickly stopped smoking and started to radiate heat. _

_"Well shit Tav! You got any other special powers holed up in their? Laser vision? Super hearing? Flight?" Gamzee was slowly warming up and his speech was no longer chopped by his chattering teeth. Tavros sighed "I wish, I wouldn't have had to be saved; if I could fly. I could have just flown, uh out of here. Not that I don't appreciate you helping me or anything! Just hate it when im… always the damsel in distress…." Tavros leaned against Gamzee again, more for the comfort in knowing he was there rather than to keep him warm. Gamzee huffed, he didn't like it when Tavros was sad, made his chest flutter in all the wrong motherfucking ways. "Aww nah bro! you turn that frown upside down right in the motherfucking now, besides if I'd left you all up and stranded like that who would I all up and go to when I had a new idea for some more 'sick fires'?" _

**_They then proceeded to have the first of the worst rap offs in paradox space history._**

~!~

_It was a little later after that that they noticed that the cave had grown silent as the pounding of waves on sheer rock had gone. Gamzee got up and hauled Tavros up with him. "Ready to go Tavbro?" Gamzee asked as Tavros hesitated slightly from walking anywhere near the precipice, honestly he didn't want to get back into the water, childishly wishing that they could just stay in the cave cause it sure beat being dragged back to the surface through shudderingly cold water. And did he mention he hated getting wet? Well he did. And that was a one way ticket to getting wet again RIGHT as he'd just gotten dry._

_"Come on Tav, we gotta be going home before the tide goes out again" Gamzee jumped back into the water and sighed, ahhh damnit he'd just gotten dry again but to hell with it his hair was getting stiff and salty and he wanted to wash that shit out with fresh water soon._

_Tavros stared down at the inky blackness of the water, reflecting the luminescent blue from the walls and lighting it just enough for him to see Gamzee's body but nothing below it "Come on Tav, I won't let go of you. Don't you trust me?" Tavros was standing nervously on the lip of the precipice, fiddling his two pointer fingers together before closing his eyes and nodding, taking a step forward into the cold water before he could chicken out again. Gasping underwater for a second before Gamzee caught him and brought him back up again. _

_"Breath in."_

_Tavros gulped in a lungful of air before he was drawn back under the water and being projected through the water at a steady pace. As he felt them twist out of the tunnel he braved the sting of salt and opened his eyes, adjusting to the dim light of the ocean and almost gasping out his lungful of air. It was….Beautiful. Words could not describe, the multi-coloured coral flashed past them as they surfaced, shoals of fluorescent fish swimming synchronised back and forth as they browsed amongst the glowing jade sea weed. And Gamzee…It was stunning how he swam through the water effortlessly (well maybe NOT effortlessly seeing as he was towing him along) and cutting through the water with strong kicks, holding Tavros with his arms. Tavros watched as the water slowly turned from a dim black to deepest jade blue to a bright navy blue to a colour not unlike Vriska's cerulean blood. He hardly noticed the ache in his lungs for oxygen before they had broken the surface and He was gasping for breath, the way up had seemed HOURS longer than the way down._

_Gamzee tugged them along, the now calm water gently rising and falling, until Tavros could reach out and pull himself up onto the rocks that surrounded the cliff leading to the sandy shore. _

_"Well, I won't be going anywhere near, the water again for a while" Spitting out some salty water that he had swallowed on the way up. Gamzee was still treading water lightly as Tavros got up and sat on the edge of the sea, legs still dangling in the cool water as he tried to see past the inky blue to the underwater kingdom below. "Is it always that beautiful down there when you swim?" _

_"I'd say so, though this'd be the first time I've all up and been to this cove and it's pretty…Pretty!"_

_"oh? So why where you here today?" Tavros tilted his head._

_"All up and took a walk that lasted longer than I thought and I was stuck in a cave for the day, and my face paint all up and got smudged so I went for a swim to get it off." Gamzee shrugged causing little ripples in the water._

_"…Does that mean you won't come back here again?" Tavros rubbed his arm awkwardly and ducked his head, It was rude to ask the person who just hauled you out of the ocean and saved your life if they were going to come back to visit! Especially if Gamzee lived so far away… Oh!_

_"Hey! Can I… give you my troll handle? Then we can talk all the time and rap and you wouldn't have to come so far! If you wanted to see me that is..." Tavros beamed, yes this way they could still stay in touch! _

_Maybe Gamzee would be his first friend? _

_Tavros's smile faded when Gamzee looked down uncomfortably. "Oh… sorry, I-I shouldn't have asked, you probably want to get back to your hive…'spose you don't want t-to be seen with a l-lowblood or anything…" Gamzee looked up face flushed a slight, blue? Purple? Wow he was high up. _

_"No! No, nothing like that it's just…" He rubbed the back of his head self-consciously "I… I can't up and motherfucking read, Goatdad never got to the haps' of ever teaching me" Looking up at Tavros nervously. _

_"Oh! Well…how about I teach you?" Tavros was blushing like mad now, but he owed Gamzee so maybe if he taught him to read then they would be square! And he really wanted to hang out with Gamzee more so hell he was killing two wing beasts with one stone! Or maybe just catching them, because he didn't think he would uh, be able to hit a wing beast with a stone, let alone kill it._

_Gamzee was beyond stunned, the only thing he could think to do was get out of the water as quickly as possible and hug the fuck out of this adorable motherfucker. Tavros yelped at he was pulled up into a bear hug and wet, AGAIN, laughing hesitantly as Gamzee let go and smiled so wide Tavros was worried that his mouth would split._

_"hehehe! Now ive got an excuse to all up and visit ya Tav! Though I feel sorta bad taking advantage of you like that so tell ya what? I'll teach you to swim if you teach me to read? Deal motherfucker?" Gamzee held out his hand smiling widely as Tavros paled before shaking it "uh… do I have to get wet?!" Gamzee just laughing and slapping his back "It'll be fun! Promise ya tav! I won't all up and abandon you ok?"_

_"Deal then" Tavros smiled as they made their way across the slippery stone to the winding path of his hive. Ready to face the wrath of Tinkerbull._

~!~

Karkat stopped tapping his fingers against his husktop, staring intently at Gamzee's chumhandle as it stubbornly stayed grey, and groaned in frustration. Fuck what was taking Gamzee so long? I mean he knew that Gamzee was probably going through a whole new hell at the moment but for fucks sake! He could have at least come back to his hive or even fucking pester him on chumhandle. Getting up and stretching he decided that he would go FIND Gamzee seeing as the stupid fuck was probably eating his feelings and would need a shoulder to lean on.

The first thing Karkat noticed was wrong was the fact that Gamzee's door was wide open. Eyebrows furrowing in confusion Karkat stopped walking, Gamzee wouldn't just leave the door to his home wide open for anyone to walk in. Peaking around the door just to make sure Egbert hadn't laid a trap he called out into the apartment. Not getting an answer he was about to turn around and keep looking when something stopped him. Walking back into the apartment and sniffing slightly trying to detect the odour he had caught a whiff of outside the apartment. Shit, what was that? It smelled like…like blood, and lots of it. Turning towards the hallway and calling out again "GAMZEE? Im not fucking around here are you home?" walking briskly down the hallway, smell getting stronger as he got closer to the bathroom at the end of it. Freezing mid step as he saw a flash of indigo.

Oh fuck, GAMZEE.

Running into the bathroom and choking on a gasp as he saw his morails body curled up on the stark tiles with blood oozing out and cutting through the blinding white of the tiles, staining it a bright indigo. Looking for the source of the blood wasn't necessary as the giant bone deep cut and numerous slashes that ran up and down his tail was plain enough to fucking see that even Terezi wouldn't have missed it.

_Oh fuck_ had Gamzee tried to cut his tail off? Fuck, fuck, fuck! Gamzee was bleeding out on him for the second time today and it had been less than 24 hours. Stepping over the LARGE puddle of blood and severed tail he gently lifted Gamzee's head and shoulders off the cold tiles and onto his lap, papping his face gently but unable to rouse him. Checking his pulse he let out a sigh of relief as he found it just as strong as it was supposed to be, a little lethargic but still beating steadily.

He reached out behind him and grabbed a towel that was on the floor next to the shower and pulled Gamzee up and onto it; he didn't want Gamzee to FREEZE before he bled out now. Satisfied that at least Gamzee wouldn't get hyperthermia he reached toward his ravaged tail and laid it out in front of him. Wiping the blood away from the longer end he frowned, those cuts didn't look like they had just been slashed by an undersized-fucking-katana-that-he-would-be-removing-from-gamzee's-kitchen-and-would-be-installing-plastic-knives-instead-because-seriously-holy-shit. On the contrary, the worse for wear they looked was as if he had dragged his tail through a bramble shrub a little too viscously and simply not bothered to put on a bandage. Small tears instead of gaping holes that had a small outline of scar tissue was the only thing that could possibly tip anyone off that there had been deep slashes there that should have crippled him from the base of his tail down. _Gamzee had always been a quick healer but this was fucking ridiculous_ Karkat thought incredulously as he watched the cut slowly, but surely, sewing itself together from the inside out. Muscle, tendons and skin reaching out at the slowest of snail paces and re-joining before his eyes.

The larger most devastating cut to his tail didn't seem to be healing at all, but when he looked closely he noticed that the blood vessels had staunched and mending themselves. Looking away before he gagged at the sight of Gamzee's body putting itself together so fast, he guessed it would be three or four days for the smaller cuts to disappear and about a week for the fucking gaping hole he had somehow managed to rip into himself.

Karkat was going to tear Gamzee a new one for doing something so stupid when he woke up, but it seemed that Gamzee had already done that job for him.

~ O-O ~

**_AHH! First I was worried that this was too short! Then it was too long! AND THEN IT WAS COMPLETELY AND INEXCUSABLY LATE! _**

**_Ugh that chapter was way off how it was mapped in my head and just fuck, I seriously just want them to get on with it and bone and then have PBJ babies cause I know that's the only reason anyone's reading this piece of shit and that flashback, AGAIN, too long but I felt like I needed to make it up to all you lovelies out there and added the next chapter on here. Plus more backstory for these two was needed cause they had almost no chemistry whatsoever so far and I was just like 'it's like they met yesterday and now I want them to start boning nope nada need more backstory and character development before smex' and just ARGH IM SORRY *grossly sobs* _**

**_I felt like I had been putting Tavros and Gamzee in too much and was trying to cover more characters. THEN I realised that I wasn't including TAVROS enough and this was basically turning into a GamzeexKarkat Morail story and I was like HELL to the NAW so we get that 4000 word flashback on Tavros and Gamzee's first ACTUAL LIGITAMIT feelings jam and meeting._**

**_I can't even look at this thing without finding a thousand fucking errors in it and I just want to get to the POINT but I CANT! at one point I almost flipped my laptop across the room during one of my many author(my-friends-will-not-shut-up-and-let-me-write)blocks and I seriously just sat there and TAKA TAKA'd , with my eye twitching like the maniacal bitch I am, till I had about four paragraphs of absolute bullshit so I gave up and wrote the following (about chapter 3)_**

'"Whoa mother fucker? Is that cake on your face" "why yes Gamzee-senpai it is" "baka Tavros-chan" AND THEY THEN PROCEEDED TO HAVE HUGE YAIOS IN THE HALLWAY WHILE VRISKA TOOK PHOTOS AND JOHN AND KARKAT MADE OUT BECAUSE FUCK YOU IM A HELPLESS FANGIRL SLOWLY FILLING JARS WITH FANGIRL TEARS ALONE IN MY ROOM AND TRYING TO FIND MY FUCKING TINY TOPHAT.

**_That right there is a stunning piece of literature._**

**_Oh and one a last note… AQUATIC GAMZEE'S! AQUATIC GAMZEE'S HERE! AQUATIC GAMZEE'S THERE! AQUATIC GAMZEE'S EVEEEEEERYWHERE! You can't motherfucking stop me! Im a raging fangirl and there's nothing you can do to stop my anon cannon from firing! ALL HANDS ON DECK! MWUHAHAHAHAHAHA! _**

**_Yeah…Im so tired. _**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU!_**


	8. Coping with the situation

**WELP. Im back. And badder than ever. Let's all get past the mindless moping and emotional vomit after this chapter now shall we? **

**Chapter 8: Coping with the situation.**

Gamzee woke up for the third time in two days in an uncomfortable position, in a foreign place, and without a motherfucking clue as to HOW he had gotten there. The realisation quickly hit him after a moment that he was staring at his own ceiling from his bedroom. Shifting slightly he felt bandages on his tail, not binding but protecting, and he let out a grunt of irritation. Fucks sake who had bandaged him up?! Wait…why was he in bed? Who had bandaged him up? Shit if KARKAT fit those two requirements then he was in for a yelling of the ages. How the fuck had Karkat gotten into his apartment anyway? Gamzee scowled, _Oh wait, you left the door wide open you stupid fuck._

WELL. You could tick appendage removal off his list of shit he was going to do after Karkat got through with him.

Hearing a creak from the hallway Gamzee froze before looking up and seeing the very same troll he had been thinking about standing in the doorway. Arms folded and a don't-you-dare-fuck-with-me-Makara look on his face.

"So." Karkat began, his voice laced with a menacing edge, as he leant on the doorframe glowering at Gamzee.

"Kar-"Gamzee began before being shutting up from the short growl from Karkat.

"So, I leave you by yourself for two fucking seconds and you try mutilating yourself." Karkat fumed unable to deal with Gamzee, fucker was acting so nonchalantly like he HADNT done something so stupid, he was BEYOND angry with Gamzee.

But beneath all that rage he was still his morail, and as much as he denied it he HAD been worried, fucking worried didn't cover shit. 'SCARED FOR HIS STUPID FUCKING MORAILS LIFE, AGAIN' would be more appropriate.

Karkat glowered at his 'stupid fucking Morail' when he didn't respond in any way other than to turn his head away from him.

"Do you ever fucking stop long enough to think '"Wait maybe this ISNT such a good fucking idea?"?' Did you ever stop to think about how I would feel, or hell how anyone else would react if they waltzed into your hive and found you fucking bleeding indigo all over the fucking place?" Karkat stalked over to Gamzee, who lifted his head again and stared right back at Karkat with expressionless eyes.

"Do you ever fucking think of the consequences? Even for a fucking second Gamzee? THINK before you try and fucking CUT something off because it's just a mild nuisance to you?"

"Stop it-"

"Obviously you DIDN'T think Gamzee, because what would the rest of us do if you died Gamzee?" Karkat was getting steadily louder till he was full out shouting at Gamzee.

"Stop it, Karkat-"

"What would we fucking do if you died idiot?! I didn't drag your ass halfway through the universe, watch friends DIE around us, and wean you off fucking SOPOR SLIME like the stupid fucker you are to get addicted to it in the first place, just for you to fucking kill yourself because you can't deal with something."

_"Stop."_

"FUCKING HELL GAMZEE, WHAT WOULD THE REST OF US DO IF YOU DIED?! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE A SELFISH ASSHO-"

"MOTHERFUCKING STOP IT." Gamzee shouted, hands covering his ears at the onslaught of Karkat's accusations and the mess of his thinkpan.

"IM SORRY, Im sorry Im selfish, Im sorry I let you all down, Im Sorry Im useless, Im sorry that Im a fuck up, IM SORRY IM A MONSTER." Gamzee wailed.

Karkat stepped back shocked, Oh Christ what had he done? Anger evaporating like mist in the rain as Karkat watched Gamzee curl up holding his ears as he cried, alternating between mumbling and shouting "Im sorry" as he became undone and let lose all his insecurities into the open, right for Karkat to see. Kneeling on the floor next to Gamzee's bed he rest his hands on the mattress with a sigh. Shit he was a terrible morail.

Karkat reach a hand towards Gamzee, who flinched like he was about to strike him, before leaning forward and hugging as much of the huge juggalo as he could, Papping softly at his back.

"I know, I know. It's not your fault Im sorry I got angry at you. But for fucks sake Gamzee! You had me worried there." Leaning back as his papping took affect and Gamzee was sniffling softly, but no longer crying.

"You know what it's like to find you best fucking friend in a puddle of their own blood, for the SECOND time in a day?" Karkat laughed uneasily if not a little hysterically at his own sick joke."Promise me you won't go doing anything rash or anything that fucking stupid again?" Karkat let go of Gamzee and held the stupid blubbering fuck at arm's reach. Gamzee was silent for a long time, eyes finally resting on Karkat's face instead of the wall.

"I'll only promise that as long as you promise to take me out if I ever lose control." Gamzee's eyes were bearing down on him, almost begging Karkat.

"I think that goes without saying Gamzee." Karkat mumbled letting go of Gamzee and walked out of the room, stopping in the doorway and looking back "I take it that you're gonna want breakfast in bed then. Or should I say dinner, seeing as its ten"

Gamzee smiled softly, wiping the left over tears out of his eyes with his fist, "Thanks Karkat."

He wasn't sure if he was thanking him for the prospect of shittly cooked eggs in bed, or the promise of a sickle in the chest if he went rampant.

~!~

Before long the two days of relaxation were over. The humans doing their best to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for the upcoming day (bright eyes as in conscious, and bushy tailed as in able to shove cereal into their mouths without getting milk on their shirts.) The trolls groaning as they had to re-adjust to waking back up with the sun instead of falling asleep when the suns first rays peaked over the horizon. All of them were sluggish and grouchy from the sleeping disturbances, but for Gamzee it was almost impossible to drag himself out of bed the next day. He had gotten even LESS sleep from the rest of them combined and it showed. Almost falling asleep in the shower and then shuffling like a zombie down to the bus stop with his shirt crooked and wicked paint smudged on half-assed.

Most people could make the connection that he looked like shit.

GAMZEE thought he looked like shit.

He sure fucking felt like it too.

He still felt like there was sticky lead in his veins, making him twitchy and on edge as he felt it move around his body, though thankfully every minute that passed he felt like he was getting more relaxed and easy-going. The lead slowly thinning out and disappearing, feeling more normal with every passing moment.

Normal, like everyday Gamzee.

That in itself was more than enough motivation to keep moving, keep living, ALMOST kept him from falling asleep on the little old lady that made the mistake of sitting next to him on the bus.

~!~

As Gamzee walked through the sharp fenced gates of the school he debated with himself on whether or not he would actually get through an entire day without running into Tavros at some point. Pushing the thought aside with a sigh he walked up the stairs, past the junkies stupid enough to toke up right outside the teachers' lounge and the art majors who were showing off their work to friends, and into the musty smelling school building.

He was still trying to get used to the way his tail felt all confined up under his holographic guise, pants AND binding as he walked, trying not to pull faces whenever the fabric bunched and pinched him.

And oh motherfuck, his tail itched. Brilliant.

Grumbling the entire short distance to homeroom as teenagers and teacher alike rushed and bumped into him, almost growling at the year sevens that kept running in and around his legs. Karkat had somehow gotten to the school before him and managing to catch up with him around a corner, falling into step beside him and somehow weaving around the masses of kids like a fish through water, when he himself blundered awkwardly straight through. Oh motherfucking perfect, '_unpassable wall of slow walking assholes ahoy'_

He swore he was gonna snap the next kids head off if one more MOTHERfucker even TRIED to push past him again- wait.

Gamzee only got a few seconds of a glimpse but he was certain of what he saw.

Tavros looked like a motherfucking train wreck.

The two second glimpse he had caught of him as he walked quickly, away from Gamzee as soon as he'd spotted him with Vriska almost trotting to keep up with him, had confirmed his worse fears. Tavros's eyes were ringed with dark circles that even his human guise couldn't hide, hair more unkempt than usual and the way he held himself, the look in his eyes as though he wasn't really there and was just floating through another bad memory. He hadn't thought of the prospect that it would be this painful avoiding Tavros, ANOTHER thing he hadn't fucking thought of.

And just to top the morning off he had math first, with the grumpiest motherfucker ever to grace this fucking planet. He SO wasn't in the fucking mood for a lecture on punctuality when he arrived late ,BARELY, as lo and behold, Sir was not only present he was also fucking peachy. And by peachy Gamzee of course meant 'ready to hand out verbal beat downs and pop quizzes'. Oh great, Sir was bitching about his paint. Something about his face MUST have screamed 'OH DO CONTINUE SIR, I live to take your bitching in stride' because evidently, refusal to get rid of his face paint meant a twenty five minute lecture on Respect and disrespect to school rules by using makeup, causing sniggers from the class that Gamzee bore in silence, even as Sollux sniggered along with them and was only shut up by a cold glare from Gamzee.

FUCK the calm and easy-going mood he'd been in that morning, by the time lunch had rolled around Gamzee was about ready to straight out murder a motherfucker. Preferably a certain obnoxious art teacher who would not FUCK OFF and leave him to his devices long enough for him to draw a fucking line, oh yeah and trying to avoid every other troll in an enclosed classroom was fucking difficult. Glaring over at Karkat who had decided when they had arrived on earth that they all HAD to go to school for a fucking human-education that he was sure he didn't fucking need.

When the FUCK was he going to need a lecture on abusing makeup?!

Nabbing his Faygo before it hit the table he tried to drown his sorrows in the fizzy grape flavoured Soda. Last period was science. Whoopdee-fucking-doo.

~!~

As he walked into Science he instinctually knew something or SOMEONE wanted him dead, and true to his instincts, there Vriska sat. Staring coldly at him like she wanted nothing more than to ram her hand into his chest and watch his life spill out, probably would have done it to if the room wasn't full of innocent bystanders. Though he was sure that he was going to have to watch his back around her, least he be shanked in the back with a blunt spoon Vriska had probably sharpened during lunch and smuggled in.

Ignoring her and sitting down in his seat that was unfortunately that bit too close to her, only one seat away on their assigned desk seperated them as they were huddled at the back of the class, he waited and desperately praying that Karkat would hurry up and fill the space between them as she dropped her gaze to her hands and was primping her sharp very-not-human looking nail. He did NOT want to deal with this right now; fuck knew his plate was already full and spilling onto the floor.

_Please don't open your gab hole Vriska, don't open your gab hole Vriska, don't open your gab hole Vris-_

"Tavros visited me yesterday Gaaaaaaaamzee" Vriska crooned, flicked her nail and then drumming them on the table, continuing in a to-sweet voice, drawing out the vowels in the eight second drawls she so adorned when she was beyond pissed.

"He wasn't very happy Gaaaaaaaamzeeeeeeee" she turned to face him fully, voice dropping into something cold and hostile "Why would that be Gaaaaaaaamzee?"

Leaning across the gap, WAY to close for comfort, and smiled viciously at him her voice falling back into it sickly sweet ruse as he tried not to lean away from her and hold his ground at the same time.

"Why would Tavros be unhappy Gamzeeeeeeee? Did you make him unhappy?" She pouted in mock shock before baring her teeth and almost outright snarling "Why would you make him unhappy Gamzeeeeeeee? What did you do?" Vriska resumed smiling and leaning back in her chair.

"Actually no, Now that I think about it" tapping her chin with a long finger as though considering something "Tavros didn't visit me Gamzeeeeeeee. I foooooooound him. Crying. in the fucking hallway." he finally looked over as she stood up and sauntered the two steps over to him and leaning down slightly, placing her two hands on the sides of his arms and digging in her nails enough to leave marks but not bleed, letting her fingers crawl her hands up towards his shoulders, or probably his throat, as she never stopped speaking in that manipulative voice that sent shivers crawling down his spine in the worst ways possible.

"What did you doooooooo Gamzeeeeeeee? Because Tavros is upset, and when Tavros is upset IM upset" Her hands stopped crawling up his arms and dug into his shoulders, near the junction of his throat.

"And when Im upset terrible things tend to happen" she leaned in close and whispering menacingly,"Gaaaaaaaamzeeeeeeee."

"Vriska, get the FUCK AWAY before I motherfucking THROW your ass back" Gamzee shook his shoulders free of her digging claws and let a small feral growl punctuate his point across to her that he was NOT fucking joking and this was the time she should back down. NOW.

Vriska jerked her hands away from him in slight shock, what the fuck did Gamzee just GROWL at her?! Walking over to the front of the desk and slamming her hands down in front of him and getting right up near his face hissing, drawing some curious looks from the class around them "How dare you leave Tavros like that? Leave him in a FUCKING HALLWAY for everyone to see. You're a fucking monster if you co-"

Gamzee stood up almost too fast for her to see and stalked out of the classroom right as the professor came in, ignoring the teachers indignant protest as he slipped out of the classroom and into the hallway. Trying to subdue the growl in his throat from rising beyond a low rumble in his chest when Vriska followed him out, still shouting accusations at him even as students standing in the hallways stopped and stared.

"What the fuck did you say to him Gamzee? Because he sure as fuck won't answer me. Hasn't slept or eaten since fucking Saturday. This is your fault Gamzee! What did you DO?" He turned back towards her but didn't offer any answer, he was trying to keep a lid on his unusual anger but he was itching for a fight and Vriska was definitely not helping with the way she was yelling and flipping her long black hair in a way he knew could only mean she was tossing her invisible horns at him.

"Vriska I didn't up and mean to put Tavros in any such sta-"

"Didn't mean to?! Gamzee he's red for you! Even Terezi could fucking see that!"

"I fucking know that Vriska" Being cut off as Vriska continued storming towards him.

"So what did you do? You left him. You left him alone, crying and in the FUCKING CORRIDOR. What the fuck do you mean by 'didn't fucking mean too?!'" She was closing the gap towards him swiftly and he only had enough time to throw a shoulder back to protect his back before Vriska slammed him into a locker. Gamzee could easily have broken out of the hold or even flipped the situation around, but he couldn't risk a fight, one of them might land on their bands and damage or break it in the ensuing fight if Vriska got any fucking closer to him.

Tightening her grip on his shirt she pulled him down so she didn't have to stand on tip toes "Now Im going to ask you again, Why. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do. This. To. Him?"

He wasn't sure how much longer he could go before he ripped out of her grip and either absconded or ripped into her.

"We weren't up and meant to be matesprites, Im not good for him and lets just motherfucking leave it at that Vriska" he snarled at her, digging his own claws into her wrist, human guise making it seem that he was only holding her wrists tightly instead of a set of sharp claws digging into her wrist for purchase.

"BULLSHIT Gamzee, don't give me that shit, now TELL me before I MAKE YOU MYS-"

"VRISKA, GAMZEE." Both of them turned as they saw Karkat at the end of the corridor, fuming and stalking over to them, only stopping briefly to yell at the inquisitive students that had watched the fight unfold to _'fuck off and mind your own damn business! Got nothing better to do than stare like a bunch of morons attracted by bright light?'_ Yanking the two of them away from each other and dragging them back to the science rooms.

"Between the two of you I'd say you had the common sense of a fucking wriggler who was dropped to many times by its lusus!" Dropping his voice down into a whisper outside the science rooms "Are you two fucking INSANE? What part of STAY FUCKING LOW didn't you understand? Oh let's ALL go out into the corridor and strife in front of the entire school population, because OBVIOUSLY that's what's been keeping us all alive and undercover so far. Well done, you're BOTH a credit to the remainder of our race. So how's about next time you two save the trouble and just rip off your bands and clothes at the same time, you know JUST IN CASE SOMEONE HAPPENED TO MISS THE SIGHT OF TWO FUCKING TROLLS HAVING A STRIFE DEATHMATCH IN THE HALLWAYS, and just blow ALL our covers." Karkat was not so much whispering as hissing himself hoarse with rage at the two of them as he continued "Now are you too going to stop being fucktards and sit your asses down for ONE PERIOD without ripping each other's throats out, and that's not a suggestion, that's a fucking order" Pushing them into the class room, not bothering to apologise to the flustered science teacher at their abrupt entry, situating himself between the two and acted as an Auspice for the period. Or at least making sure they didn't go at each other's throats again.

~!~

Vriska sat there in a huff, drumming her nails on the table to drown out the science teachers booooooooring lecture, cerulean eyes kept flitting between the clock and glancing around Karkat for an opening to possibly throw something at Gamzee. What Gamzee had said kept replaying in her mind. It didn't make sense, Gamzee was one of the least subtle trolls in the paradox when it came to anything (especially Tavros) and there was absolutely no denying flushed feelings between the two. It was almost sickening how during the game the two of them had clung to each other like a rainbow drinker to spilled magenta! She had been jealous of their closeness for quite some time and now Gamzee was acting like Tavros was just extra baggage that he needed to drop off.

_Bullshit_, she called it loud and clear. Maybe she could ask Tavros? Chuckling coldly under her breath quietly, yeah right, all she knew so far and needed to know was that she had found Tavros crumpled on the ground outside his door crying silently and Gamzee had rejected him. She had just guessed that he had gone looking for Gamzee when she had woken up in the morning, only to find the couch vacant and her apartment empty. She'd taken Tavros back into his apartment and begged him to tell her what had happened, she hadn't been able to get anything out of him other than blank stares, tears and some stuttered mutters of "not good enough" or "not flushed for me, never was".

His confidence had been shattered by SOMETHING and it didn't take a genius to figure it out. She had dedicated her evening trying to get him to eat SOMETHING or have a feelings jam, neither succeeding in feeding him or jamming with him, she had given up around 11 and giving him her bed that night, even risked sleeping next to him.

And then suddenly in the morning he was up again, talking almost cheerfully, apologising if he had hit her with his horns even though he had never moved from his awkward curled up position and offering to make her breakfast.

Didn't eat any himself though.

But she could still sense his unease, the little signs of discomfort and the dead look in his eyes that where only more outlined by the dark heavy bags beneath them, she knew he was hurting inside. And she couldn't help him.

That in itself was hurting her too.

But she was going to do something. She was going to find out why Gamzee had done this.

And then she was going to make him PAY.

~!~

Gamzee all but ran out of science as the obnoxiously loud bells rang, down the stairs to freedom, not even stopping for an irate Karkat hot on his heels

"You're unbelievable! I told you not to do one thing! ONE THING! And you go and fucking do it!" Karkat steamed behind him still holding his books to his chest as they made their way to their locker section at a fast walk-canter.

"I don't think you up and noticed, but I didn't see any fight breaking out there Karkat." Gamzee retorted, he was tired and he wanted to just crawl up in his pile of horns till hunger eventually drove him out of his room or he passed out.

"But a fight almost did happen! I TOLD you to stay low! We can't have close calls like that again! Just god, fucking stay away from Vriska alright"

"Oh sure, anyone else you want me to ignore brother?" Gamzee growled as he kept walking "Im sure Equius can't be all up and trusted around me anymore either, motherfucker might 'spill the milk' and let his blabby mouth get the better of him. Might start talking about the wrong shit and I might up and attack him, better add him to the list of brothers and sisters I can't up and talk to as well" stopping his Karkat worthy rant when he realised he had almost passed their locker block, tearing his locker door open and piling his books inside.

"Gamzee you know what I mean" Karkat huffed as he finally caught up to him as he arrived at his locker and started throwing his shit into the cluttered space.

"Vriska's obviously looking for a fight and we don't know If you're going to spontaneously lose it and go on a killing spree or not"

Gamzee knocked his head against his locker, sighing so loudly it was almost a grunt "Don't remind me."

"And besides it not like avoiding Vriska could do you any harm just for now. But could you just LAY THE FUCK LOW. God I know it's hard for you, but Jesus, TRY at least!" Karkat reached into his locker and rummaged through his piles of books till he managed to pull out a large floppy book thing.

"Oh yeah, and I got you an earth pedigree measurer, thought it seemed appropriate. Make sure to actually use it and NOT just look at the pretty pictures."

~ O-O ~

**_WHOOOO SHORT CHAPTER IS SHORT! Wow this took me two days to write *victory dance it's probably shit but HERP-A-DERP! Don't care, new record!*_**

**_Just realised that everything is angsty and a character cries at LEAST once every chapter. _**

**_I can't keep this thing even remotely light and humorous can I? Nope? Welp, Im going to go crawl back under my rock of depression where I write cause, holy shit, SOMEONE SMILE! Might just all up and post a fluffy oneshot to get over all these angsty feels, post a review if you feel the need to protect the world from such an awful thing existing. _**

**_Can I also extend my love to all of you for the fact that people actually read this and don't dub it a crime against the English language? Well not entirely anyway? _**

**_Seriously all of you? Come here and hug me. Big love comin' from this here bitch who can't write or process all her feels at the moment!_**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL!_**


	9. Progressing through the days

**_THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for all of you who leave reviews and are for some inconceivable reason still reading, some of you are even COMPLIMENTING this piece of shit. And another thank you for all the helpful input as well, and all this waiting! Especially the waiting for me to turn out each chapter because at this point I've thrown schedules to the wind and gone rampant, actually spending my nights SLEEPING occasionally (haha, that's a lie.) But seriously, all these reviews I've gotten? It keeps me from giving up on this story all together. I will try and keep up with the updates as scheduled but man if you saw the fucking bags under my eyes,,,! but I know how frustrating it can be to start a story and then have it discontinued or it takes about a million years to update. Feeling sucks. So I shall keep working on this shit till the wee hours of the morning 'cause I never have any other free time. It's not like I've lost interest in this story or anything, im just having trouble getting over this minor authors block *ahem* laziness. _**

**_I don't think I could ever really disband this story; it's just my baby now._**

**_And its gonna have to deal with having a mad cow for a mom, so go back upstairs and put on a PG rating young lady!_**

**_Chapter 9: Progressing through the days _**

The sun was setting over the expanse of the now white city as Karkat and Gamzee walked the couple of miles home, opting to be in the open air rather than the stuffy metal box the humans called a bus…nah, they were just stingy bastards that didn't want to pay the 5 human boondollars to get on a bus they were going to have to dismount halfway home anyway because their apartment was in the middle of 'god knows where' and 'pffft I AINT WALKING THAT FAR!'. But they did have to admit it was pleasant, and they both enjoying the scenery that Washington's downtown suburbs had to offer.

The winter frost had snuck up on and surprised them all. Most of them had never even seen snow before. Which was to the everlasting enjoyment of all the trolls when they woke up one morning to find the ground blanketed with the stuff, spare maybe Karkat and Tavros who stayed inside, the rest of them revealed in the glory of being able to peg what was essentially frozen rock hard sludge at each other without need of a rhyme or reason other than 'fuck the police! Human customs!'

Gamzee enjoyed the pleasant silence between him and Karkat on their daily walks home. Neither of them ever felt the need to start any unwelcome noise to disturb the tranquil momentary peace which would vanish the second they stepped foot into the apartment.

Breathing out deeply and watching his breath as it swirled around him momentarily before vanishing in front of him, Gamzee couldn't help but look back at the month.

After that first strenuous day back in the land of normal and tedious, things had been looking up. Gamzee had taken Karkat's human perigee measurer and had marked out all the…significant events that would happen every month. Knowing that he had a slight grasp on the situation made him feel calmer and now things were started to get… better. His mood was mostly constant and never flared up with the strange unexplainable anger that clung to him for a solid two days afterward. But over the course of those two short days Gamzee was feeling completely (almost) comfortable back in his own body, snug in his own skin, back to normal again.

But to say that things were the same as before would be a lie. Things weren't the same, Oh no, far from it.

For starters Karkat had taken to tagging along with him wherever he went and to be honest it was starting to annoy him. Sure, who wouldn't want to hang with their pale bro as much as possible right? But this was ridiculous. Oh he knew that Karkat meant well and it wasn't like he was clinging to him like a _drop-bear-beast* _or stalking him everywhere, but god forbid he even LOOKED at someone funny before Karkat just happened to magically rock up in the same room or start herding Gamzee away. Best motherfucking friend must have taken flash step lessons from Dirk because there was no way he could sneak up that fast on Gamzee's without him noticing.

And the planning. All the nonstop organising Karkat kept dragging him into was starting to wear down on his thinkpan as well. Man, sure things had to be done and things needed to be arranged but couldn't a motherfucker have some peace? Just five minutes without Karkat fretting and fluttering around him like a broody hen as the days ticked by, and if not for his sake but for Karkat's. Poor bastard was working himself to the bone for Gamzee's sake. Honestly Gamzee hated it beyond measure because Karkat looked just as worn out as him. And to top it off Karkat was only doing it because he had gone and convinced himself that he'd have to all up and look after his ass every other second of the day. And Gamzee knew he should have put a stop to it already but he just couldn't say no to him after all, look at all the shit he had pulled him into, it seemed only fair that Gamzee listened to every rant Karkat threw at his direction and ate his green's when he was told. He would make himself sit through all the questions and let Karkat drag him around the neighbourhood to scope out the spot where they could see the building far off in the distance that they had found for…That.

They had been taking the same route every day for the last two weeks now with little success when Karkat's interests were significantly peaked when Aradia had mentioned a creepy abandoned warehouse nearby to their apartment block. Like every other walk they took, they were scoping out the area every day to check if anyone DID enter or leave and it didn't just SEEM deserted.

_"And nobody ever goes there! Ooooooooh, it would be the best place to host a corpse party!" Aradia clapped her hands together in excitement at the prospect of the perfect adventuring and corpse party hangout. _

_"Ok first off 'Rad, there are no CORSPES to have a party with, so first flaw there. SECOND flaw is the fact that nobody in their right fucking mind would step foot in that god awful dusty shit hole." Sollux exasperatedly listed off with his fingers, ANYTHING to keep Aradia from tomb raiding was generally a good idea._

So they'd done their research, scoped the area only to find it surrounded by fields and some *semi* placid cows, and to open up into a very dusty shithole. But a very dusty shithole with lots of abandoned rooms nonetheless.

After continuing to check in on the area to make sure it was completely desolate of life apart from the stray rodents and flying rats that lived in the rafters Karkat was pleased to find it was absolutely deserted. They decided that this would be the place, though Gamzee was sceptical (then again he WOULDN'T be too enthusiastic about this than would he). It might have been a warehouse or a mill before it had been abandoned, they didn't care. It was isolated, big, and had a fuck ton of maybe-up-for-consideration- rooms. After a thorough search and rummage they had alchemising space station doors reinforced with steel to a small loading area that already had a good heavy garage door that opened up to the main bulk of the building instead of just the simply locks and flimsy wood doors that where hanging off their hinges that comprised of the rest of the rooms entrances and exits.

They went for pure iron and multi folded steel for the doors. Alternian wood or not Gamzee had almost broken through the doors in Karkat's basement before so they hoped that metal would keep him out better. Or rather IN better.

Karkat had had to think pretty damn fast on his feet when Kanaya had asked him about the absence of his door or about the scratches that where lining his basement walls and scratched floor when she had been bringing down that week's laundry. Some speedy thinking on Karkat's part had gotten him out boiling water that he had no intention whatsoever of going anywhere near again. Still, Karkat needed to calm his tits down before he blew a blood vessel in his forehead or some shit.

But maybe Karkat was right to be organised, to be prepared for anything, prepared for the worst. After all.

Only a few days to go…

He was dreading the impending doom that the motherfucking lump of rock that orbited the planet promised. Honestly they didn't know what was going to happen, didn't know whether something would happen at all, didn't know if things would be better or worse. But Karkat knew that they had to be prepared and Gamzee tried to follow his example but to be honest….

He was scared.

As things had gotten better he kept trying to convincing himself that everything was normal, every time he woke up in the morning convincing himself it had been a dream, just a reoccurring nightmare, but the chafing binding around his leg couldn't have been imagination and the blinding pain he remembered ripping through his body wasn't either, he wasn't that fucked up to all up and imagine that. He had to face the truth sooner or later that it had happened.

And was most likely going to happen again.

Karkat had made him keep a small journal to keep track of any unusual shit that was happening to him. He was still practically ignoring the thing, only ever picking it up to doodle in or to jot down meaningless shit when he couldn't sleep because of the horrorterrors that kept invading his sleep, starting to grow more and more common the closer he got to deadline.

The headaches were getting worse.

Everything was planned, everything as ready, nothing could possibly go wrong…Gamzee hoped for that at least.

~ O-O ~

***For all those who are about to puzzle your thinkpans on what a drop-bear-beast is, it is in fact, a Koala. You watch out for those! We don't talk about them drop bears! (Im totally joking, but please note that I have actually known someone who has been jumped by a koala and it attached to his face like a head-crab from half-life, that it all)**

**_Because this chapter is so long in it full length I shall be counting down the days in the next four chapters so they will be shorter and update SOOOOOO much quicker for at least three more chapters. Authors notes will be absent (HALLELUJAH NO MORE LONG ASS AN's!) _**

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS TILL MY HAT TIPPING RETURN!_**

_omg…just stare at the word 'hallelujah'…..whoa…..who needs drugs to get high when you got something as trippy as the English language to stare at /QoQ( *words swoon*_


	10. COUNTING DOWN

**Chapter 10: COUNTING DOWN**

_Three days to go._

Tavros sneezed before sniffling and continuing his cold trek back home from the library, walking briskly in a vain attempt to keep his blood flowing to his toes. He watched as the mist from his breath curled out through the gaps of the scarf wrapped as snuggly to his face as possible. Maybe Eridan was on to something when it came to scarf fetishes, but then again, Eridan wore his scarves during the summer and when he went swimming so maybe he wasn't on to something there but It kept Tavros warm so he was willing to suck it up and try to get used to the itchy wool.

Tavros couldn't help looking back on the month.

The days where getting shorter, the sun was almost non-existent half the time and the weather was getting exponantially colder.

He hated the cold, hated how it seeped into his bones and made him shake uncontrollably until his jaw hurt from chattering, Hated that whenever he woke up on a bare bed mattress that felt more like stone after throwing off his blankets from thrashing from horrorterrors halfway through the night he felt more like an icicle than a troll. Hated how the cold froze the water on this planet and then melted later in his socks after he trailed the sludge home and didn't notice it clinging to his shoes. Hated the way the cold crept up on him even with the barricade of shirts and sweaters he curled around himself up in each night tighter than his pupation cacoon.

Winter sucked on this planet.

And the winter wasn't the only thing that made him want to scream in frustration either. School was a new nightmare at the moment. Oh, he normally enjoyed the human education system, but the tests and overdue homework deadlines were starting to drag him down. Not to mention how he'd been pushed around more than once in the corridors and even called 'Fag' by a couple of adolescent humans. He didn't have the slightest of a clue as to what that meant or why he was now the subject of their tormenting, but he sure as hell knew that the only thing keeping him from landing a solid punch in the jaw to the next asshole to push him over in the corridor was Karkat's order to stay low. Although he didn't really want to hurt someone that badly just because he couldn't stand a couple or foreign curses being sent his way that didn't mean he couldn't get pissed off about it.

And although the weather was irritating and school work was tedious and tiring he found solace from the fact that his friends were there to help him work past all the shit that had been going on lately.

But avoiding Gamzee was another matter altogether.

It hurt whenever he saw Gamzee, killed him inside when he had to go out of his way to avoid and ignore Gamzee. He wanted to know why.

Just WHY.

Why wasn't Gamzee eating? Why did Gamzee go out of his way to make sure he didn't have to talk to anyone except Karkat? Why was he so hesitant to approach anyone?

Tavros wanted to drop this game, wanted Gamzee to talk to him, wanted to hold Gamzee and help with his troubles. Just WANTED Gamzee.

_Gamzee looked oh so tired..._

But if this was what Gamzee wanted then Tavros would stay away. He hadn't been sure he COULD stay away from him but he did. He'd already breached on the hope that when Gamzee had said they weren't meant to be matesprites that he might be able to sidle back into the morail quadrant or even manage to spark Kismesissitude with Gamzee, He didn't care what quadrant or even if he wasn't even in a quadrant, anything other than this constant ignorance to his existence. But he hadn't been able to get a growl past his lips before absconding like the coward he was.

Even though he was sure Gamzee hated him. He just couldn't bring himself to hate Gamzee back, but god he just wanted to be WITH Gamzee, around him, joking with him…best bro's like always…

But no matter what he tried Gamzee stayed true to his word and wouldn't even speak to him, wouldn't acknowledge his existence. Questions he tried to block out but wouldn't stop, accusations at himself that this was his own fault.

So Tavros kept his distance and watched, trying to decipher why Gamzee was pushing him even further away and absconding from the room whenever he entered.

Vriska at least, stayed by his side those first few days after… no he didn't want to revisit that memory, wiping the back of his hand over his eye quickly to clear his suddenly fuzzy vision as he rounded the last corner onto their all but deserted street he trudged up the slippery street and managed not to fall, making it to the apartment block stairs and struggling with the front door till he managed to move his frozen fingers enough to turn the lock.

Not bothering to wipe his feet on the **'go away. No we DON'T welcome retailers here, fuck off'** doormat (complementary of Karkat) in the hallway, despite Kanaya's and Roses disapproving screeching from the 'cuddle pile' when he trailed sludge halfway through the lounge-respit block, he trudging over to the kitchen flinging his bag somewhere into a corner to pick up later.

Opening the frozen storage unit only to baulk at the fully stocked unit after realising that nothing appealed to him and he was getting nauseas at the thought of even eating, but fuck he hadn't been eating properly as it was and he HAD to force himself to eat sometimes, least he pass out from exhaustion. Ducking out from behind the fridge when he heard the front door open sending a gust of frosty smelling air through the front room, much to the indignant screeching of Kanaya and Rose at another pair of sludgy boots being trailed in, he peeked around the side of the fridge before closing it and quickly absconding around the corner to the elevator as Gamzee and Karkat walked into the room.

He always silently hoped that Gamzee saw him flit around the corner but at the same time hoped that Gamzee was unaware of his presence every time he snuck out of a room before Gamzee entered, it hurt when Gamzee didn't even turn his head in acknowledgement or greet him with even a smile when like before as he walked past. Whenever they did run into each other on the increasingly rare occasions it was like this, like Tavros wasn't even there. He'd come to terms already that Gamzee had been serious about not wanting to see him at all.

Didn't make it the least bit painful as he felt the tug in his chest that drew him towards Gamzee, but at the same time told him to stay away.


	11. To the moment

**_Chapter 11: To the moment_**

_Two days to go._

_'THE HEADACHES WHERE GETTING MOTHERFUCKING WORSE'_

Gamzee was getting used to this. Waking up with a groan of protest at the suns rising, making a quick survey of the wreck his body was in today, and then getting out of bed to another day of skulking around like it was nobody's business.

Which, for another motherfucking reason, it really wasn't.

His head felt… like it was splitting in two all over again, his body hurt and he didn't know which way was up from down.

Each day he woke up to the realisation that he didn't have much time left.

He wasn't keen on getting up and going downstairs, humouring the thought that maybe if he concentrated hard enough he wouldn't feel the urge to eat as badly as he did and he would be able to stay in bed? Fat chance. His traitorous body let its intentions be known that he wasn't going to be skipping _another_ meal as his stomach growled threateningly at him to get up and feed, Gamzee was almost inclined to growl back.

Motherfucking bodies man.

Rolling out of bed and stumbling towards the bathroom only to encounter his unpainted face in the smudged mirror like every other morning. He didn't go anywhere without his facepaint anymore, hardly saw his own face without the paint, and there was a pretty good motherfucking reason for that as well.

Those three perfect lines, the new mirthful smile that swept back to his jaw. He almost smirked at cruel irony for healing him after their game session was won just to have the proof of how much of a hazard he really was torn into his face all over again.

He hated this, having it mock him, having it remind him of memories he wanted to let go. But it served as a reminder. A confirmation every morning that things weren't the same. He needed to be careful.

Carefully brushing on his paint with the extra caution it took to apply it without highlighting the faint scars underneath and generally taking his time with it as he bitterly thought of how he was going to avoid the world today.

Maybe he would all up and hide in his room again, OR MAYBE he might hide outside, OH BETTER IDEA maybe lets go stow away at Karkat's again. _WOULDN'T THAT BE A MOTHERFUCKING BITCHTITS WAY TO SPEND THE MORN- shit no. Breath this isn't you_

He could tell he was growing to hate this stage of the month. The few days left were he found himself getting angrier and slipping up more often, Losing himself to these unnatural fits of anger and on more than one occasion actual bloodlust.

Losing what made him feel like Gamzee.

But honestly it wasn't like he wasn't being given enough reason for wanting to smash a couple of heads together till the_ir_ _blood ran from their ey- No_ he hated this, this wasn't him. But he had a LOT of reasons for being frustrated, school for one.

Motherfuckers at school knew not to mess with him, he wasn't going to try and deny that he could be a bit motherfucking intimidating, but apparently the same didn't apply to Tavros.

Rumours it seemed, spread through the human caste system faster than wildfire in a field of dry grass. And since his and Vriska's little shout-off a few weeks ago, Tavros and him had been the new talk of the school.

He wasn't blind, he saw the way the other humans treated Tavros. Pushed him around for their own sick enjoyment, saw how they often kicked his feet out from under him, not knowing that each time they would be jarring metal and bone together instead of just bruising him or humiliating him. And what did he do? Absolutely nothing.

He just stood there day after day and watched each time those motherfucking _HUMANS _touched him because he was supposedly _MOTHERFUCKING DIFFERENT_, oh how he wanted to just reach into his strife deck and pull out his trusty clubs, let loose a wave of chucklevoodoo's and paint the walls _a glorious unearthly red-_

He hadn't been aware of how hard he'd been gripping the sink basin until he heard the cracking of porcelain under his tightly clenched and white knuckled hands. Huffing as he extracted his fingers from the now cracked porcelain as his attention was drawn down to his free swaying tail as it knocked over a shampoo bottle.

Gamzee had 99 problems, but surprisingly a tail wasn't one of them.

He was getting used to the daily routine of binding it up every morning, the new skin was no longer being scratched and chafed by the binding, and the moment of bliss where he could unwrap it and just let it sway, It was oddly pleasant. And it certainly made up for any discomfort he put up with, like accidently sitting on it more than once. He was still trying to get the hang of not knocking over every other precariously balanced ornament in his apartment whenever it was out, but surprisingly it had been the least of his troubles so far… plus he didn't want to admit how good it felt whenever Karkat would play with the ends when he dozed off on the couch with his tail in Karkat's lap. Whenever there was a peaceful moment that is.

But no time to dwell on the past…or rather the future, there was shit to do and morails to quail behind.

Gamzee sighed; it was going to be a long LONG day.


	12. WE FINALLY LOOSE OURSELVES

**_I have lost ALL control over my life._**

**Chapter 12: WE FINALLY ****_LOOSE OURSELVES_**

_One day to go._

Cooking was always the worst class he had on his curriculum. Not because he hated cooking itself, no not at all, it used to be one of his favourite pastimes after all, probably still would be if he hadn't been so busy. No, Gamzee found himself hating cooking because cooking was the only class where he was paired up with Tavros, with no other troll to intervene, distract or otherwise break up the tension that sparked between them whenever they were within a radius of three feet of each other.

Gamzee's blood pusher clenched when he saw Tavros quickly flit away from him whenever he got too close, watching him in the corner of his eye as Tavros rocked impatiently back and forth unsteadily on his hidden metal legs, standing as far away from him as possible as they waiting for the teacher to get on with it and hand out the ingredients. Gamzee was over aware of the way Tavros's eyes flitted back and forth between the floor, the ceiling and back to him. Why was it that whenever Tavros was around things had to be so damn complicated? Sucking it up and gritted his teeth Gamzee silently begged the teacher to HURRY UP already because, Jesus how long did it take for someone to get frozen meat.

_You told him to stay away _Gamzee scolded himself internally as his eyes glanced over to Tavros for the third time _this is keeping him safe, stop being so motherfucking selfish. _

He kept his face emotionless as he passed by Tavros as the cooking teacher finally rocked up with the shitty meat products and hardly fresh vegetables. But every part of him wanted to reach out and grab Tavros, to not give a single solitary fuck that they were in a classroom full of humans and pull him into an embrace and never let go. But he managed to get it together long enough to make it past Tavros and back without looking like a complete fucking idiot. He certainly thought he SOUNDED like one.

_You're going to hurt him, you've already hurt him. You don't DESERVE him._

Trying to cook with as little communication as possible was almost impossible, and not to mention, unbelievably awkward. To the point where Gamzee was about ready to flip his chopping board across the room in the vain hope that he'd be sent out for irresponsible conduct and away from the tension that circled there cooking bay thicker than pea soup. The two of them doing their own thing with Gamzee glancing over every now and again to check what Tavros was doing so that they didn't end up making double of the same thing. Again.

But though it was unbelievably awkward, cooking class was always the perfect excuse for checking out on how Tavros had been doing. Generally Gamzee had been pretty good avoiding Tavros, only occasionally bumping into him at school and only rarely seeing him back at the apartment complex, so this was really the only time Gamzee could really check on Tav. Cooking class had some perks after all.

Glancing over every few seconds he began picking up all the little details that Tavros's body language gave off, setting about cutting up an onion himself as a cover so he didn't draw attention to his eavesdropping. Tavros was definitely thinner, but not beyond the point where anyone would be overly concerned or get the school councillor on his ass for an eating disorder. The bags under his eyes weren't any bigger than his own, but while his were hidden by INCREASINGLY copious amounts of grey paint Tavros wasn't so lucky. Tavros was energetic enough it seemed, going about the task with a certain amount of interest, small as it was. While Gamzee had not been sleeping right for the last four days and exhaustion was starting to seep in and make him sluggish, Tavros was still walking straight, even if his shoulders where hunched and he tried to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible. He was generally healthy in every sense of the physical term, though he wasn't sure what sort of thoughts were swirling around in Tav's head. Probably a lot of bitter resentment towards him. Like he was that lucky.

Tav never was one for bearing a grudge was he? Of course not. This would be a THOUSAND times easier if Tavros would just up and hate him, instead of this silent acceptance that hurt in a whole new motherfucking way. But then again, that was TAVROS, never had been one for the hate loving on anyone, or even just all up and hating. No, not being one of the sweetest, most adorably, endearing, motherfucking sexiest troll's to ev-OH MOTHERFUCK.

Yelping he wrenched his hand back from the knife as he felt the sharp bite of steel cut into his hand and set his nerves to complaining, the onion juice that had been coating the knife wasn't helping in the motherfucking slightest either.

Tavros glanced over at Gamzee and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw the dripping red that was welling from a rather sizeable cut on Gamzee's hand. Squeaking in shock as the blood flickered a shade too dark to be red and back again before flickering back like bad reception on a TV to his normal royal indigo coloured blood.

**Tavros: Freak the fuck out for a second.**

Flailing and looking around panicking as he saw other students turn their head at the noises coming from there cramped kitchen before he was lurching forward and nabbing a dishcloth from the sink, still slightly sopping wet with soap suds, and slapped it down onto Gamzee's hand, efficiently covering up the dark purple blood but drawing another abused yelp from Gamzee as the still soapy water leaked into the cut. Before anyone could look over to investigate what the noise and fuss had been about any further or notice the quickly colouring dishcloth Tavros was dragging Gamzee out of the classroom and stuttering some half assed excuse to the flustered cooking teacher that he was going to take him to the nurse. He even managing to snag his bag on the way past the door so he could bandage Gamzee up himself and no one would be the wiser.

Yanking Gamzee out of the classroom before the flustered food tech teacher had even given them the ok to go he made his way down the hall towards the single handicapped bathroom that he knew from experience was close by. Pushing Gamzee in and locking the door to the spaciously roomed toilet cubical before letting out a deep shuddering breath and braced himself against it for good measure.

"G-god that was close" he exhaled shakily turning back towards Gamzee who was warily standing away from the door with a slight red blush tinting his not painted ears, Huh, so the holograms only showed blood as red as long as they were inside their bodies. Oh wait, why was Gamzee blushing? it wasn't like he was doing anything embarrassing or was there maybe something on his fa-

Huh, funny how such little thoughts were causing some very recent memories to surface in Tavros's own mind and soon he was trying to supress his own blush over the all too recent memory of the last time they had been in a bathroom alone together. Swallowing thickly he reached towards Gamzee to take off the blood covered handtowel and have a look at his hand he tried to ignore the way Gamzee stiffened and leaned away from him when he almost made contact with his hand.

"Gamzee,... You need to show me, or I can't help" Tavros persisted tugging the towel out of the way so that he could get a closer look at the cut. Gamzee sucking in a sharp breath as he cleaned away the blood around the cu-

Oh?

He was sure it had been bigger than that? Surely that much blood couldn't have come out of a small scratch like that, certainly not in any need of medical assistance. But then again better to be safe than sorry, people would still have seen the blood and that would have risen to many difficult questions that he didn't want, or know how, to answer.

"I….I could have sworn it was bigger…so much fuss over a little cut!" Tavros joked, trying to clear the air a little of the tension that surrounded it. The already small smile on his lips dying down when Gamzee just stared at him with carefully blank eyes, he tilted his eyes back down to the job of cleaning the cut.

"...sorry. Its ok Gamzee, I understand, I don't hold it against you." He sighed as he pulled his hands away from him and reached into his bag for the emergency first aid kit that was wedged somewhere at the bottom "Just…Just hold still while I do this ok?" He worked briskly, with as less skin contact as possible as he pinned the edges of the bandage tightly and overlapping it so that if more blood leaked out it wouldn't soak through and show.

"You shouldn't have to be sorry."

Tavros head jerked up as he heard Gamzee speak directly to him for the first time in probably weeks. First time he realised how very _restrained _his voice sounded compared to his usual easy going drawl.

"Pardon?" Tavros perked his ears, though he was sure Gamzee couldn't have seen it through his human projection, not quite sure he had REALLY heard Gamzee speak to him

"Why are you sorry, what the fuck DO YOU THINK you've done wrong?" Gamzee repeated louder, voice warbling somewhere in-between a low rumbling growl and his strained voice, sounding not dissimilar to the sound of loose gravel as it bordering a snarl. Tavros flinched but that only seemed to make Gamzee angrier.

"What the FUCK do you THINK could remotely be your FAULT?" Tavros had to resist the urge to lean away as Gamzee stepped in closer and gripped his arms, caging him against the wall. Wide shocked amber eyes meeting Gamzee's enraged indigo.

"Not fucking EATING or SLEEPING, Motherfuckers all up and pushing you down in THE FUCKING HALLWAYS and yet you're STILL TAKING THE FUCKING BLAME?" Tavros recoiled slightly as Gamzee leaned in close to his face.

"So WHY the FUCK are YOU motherfucking SORRY?"

"ANSWER ME MOTHERFUCKER" Tightening his grip on his shoulders and Tavros fought the urge to wince at the sharp rake of his claws digging into his skin, but he paid no mind to the bruises that he could feel forming around Gamzee's fingers. Tavros had never heard Gamzee snarl, not at him at least, and honestly it scared him a little. Gripping Gamzee wrists with his own hands as he tried to alleviate some of the pressure off himself before Gamzee's claws started to cut into his arms. "…Im sorry-"he started, yelping when his reply was cut off as Gamzee slammed him against the wall.

"Not what I MOTHERFUCKING ASKED you"

Tavros tightened his fists around Gamzee's wrists, a small fire of defiance flaring in his stomach at the harsher treatment.

"It is what you asked me! You think I ENJOY staying as far as possible from you, act like you don't exist? Because you told me to stay away! Im staying away Gamzee, what m-more do you WANT?"

"I want you to STOP THIS."

"Stop WHAT? Damnit Gamzee, what am I doing wr-"

"STOP. Just STOP IT. Stop PUNISHING yourself for something I MOTHERFUCKING DID TO YOU" Tavros faltered, staring wide eyed as Gamzee's words rang in his ears over and over again.

"But why Tav? Why are you still sorry? You still haven't answered me" Tavros felt the small fire of defiance in his gut die at how so utterly pathetic and just _lost_ Gamzee sounded.

"…I stayed away… and im sorry I hurt you…but you hurt me too and I-I don't know if…didn't know what to do so, I didn't do anything. I just…I don't know Gamzee! I just don't know anymore…" Tavros dropped his gaze from Gamzee and let go of his wrists, not surprised when his claws went back to digging into his arms again but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Let Gamzee hurt him…If it made him happy he didn't care.

"You didn't want me so…I made sure that you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore-" Tavros couldn't finish through his gasp of pain as Gamzee's hold on his arms tightened tenfold, almost bone crushingly tight, and his claws almost certainly cut into his arms. Now _THAT_ hurt and he knew if the pressure increased he would start bleeding and he wouldn't have anything to cover it. Tavros felt himself struggling subconsciously to shake off Gamzee's hands.

"G-Gamzee, please, I don't have anymore- I won't be able to cover the blo- Gamzee let go, you're hurting me-"

**Gamzee: What the fuck are you DOING?**

_"Gamzee let go, you're hurting me-"_

And suddenly Gamzee felt like he'd been drenched in ice cold water, like he'd woken up from an expected nap on the floor and didn't know how he'd gotten there._ WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! WHY THE FUCK IS TAVROS BLEEDING? WHY THE FUCK IS HIS BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS-._

Tavros almost fell flat on his face from how fast Gamzee was ripping his hands off him. Gamzee stumbled backwards until he felt the wood of the door connect with his back with a loud thud. Hand covering his mouth to stop the choked sob of shock in his throat until he realised that he was smudging his makeup with the orange-brown blo-

_OH HELL NO. He wasn't going to throw up, wasn't going to throw up, wasn't going-_

_He had to get out of there._

"Gam-"Tavros couldn't finish even that before Gamzee had whirled around and was flinging the door open to freedom and a student packed corridor. Quickly merging with the crowd and barging his way towards the school entrance even though there was still two periods left, he didn't care as he tried to ignore the irritated protests he got whenever he ran into someone in his hasty retreat.

_Just got to try and block out the voices…Ignore the white noise around you…_

_Try to ignore the cry of his name behind him as he fled._

~ O-O ~

**_R&R if Im doing anything that is worthy of you Caps locking me to death over *Also someone requested if they were allowed to draw fanart, just to clear things up Im giving free reign to anyone who wants to draw fanart, you have ALLLLLLLL the permission! Just put in a credit for me ok, a link would also be nice because I WOULD LIKE TO VIEW THESE MASTERPIECES! Just all up and drop it in a PM! Im really curious to how all of you view Were!Gamzee…. or does GHBS!Gamzee sound better?*….I need to learn how to write better…_**


	13. To InSaNiTy

**_Chapter 13: To InSaNiTy _**

Gamzee woke up to an obnoxious beeping and a bad taste in his mouth, his head felt a little muddy but the bright colours in his room were so much more pronounced than they had been before and he swore that he could smell bacon wafting up from the kitchen five stories below, hear the sound of a squeak beast up in the rafters scuttling about, taste the unease through the house as each troll tried to keep the jitters down over their unusual spike in energy.

His entire body tingled and throbbed when he moved but nothing truly hurt, not yet at least. But though he felt good, amazing really, a terrible feeling had settled down heavily in his stomach like a stone as he remembered what day today was.

_Deadline._

~ O-O ~

**_I am so sorry for the wait for these chapters. There short so I have absolutely no excuse whatsoever other than the fact that I suppose you could consider them as weird ass perspective journal entries to fill in the days cause I didn't want to just jump right over another month again. _**

**_*bonus* if you looked closely at the last few chapter names *ch8-12* it forms the ACTUAL name of this chapter when it wasn't split into four and in its intended full length, Little Easter egg for y'all.*_**

**_IT WAS SO FREAKING LONG ALTOGETHER. Well not really, just the chapter name, but I felt so bad with this extended hiatus even though I should be turning out chapters more frequently now I've hit school holidays but DERP, let's stay up till 4 am in the morning on ze tumblr's even though you don't have one._**

**_As always, love hearing from you guys._**

**_I ONCE AGAIN TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL! _**


	14. And so it comes to this?

**_Welp O-O have yet another chapter, also just realised now that with the double update people might have skipped over the 2,000 word chapter *still too small for my taste damnit* and only gotten the measly 300 word one as their ultra-mega-rare update. All you silly's go back to chapter 12! You missed important shit! Well not really, but it might help. Unless you HAVE read it and im just being stupid like always. making up for that by having a little bit of light hearted humour in there before I stomped all over your feelings._**

**_Chapter 14: And so it comes to this?_**

"You've got everything?"

"Yes."

"Water? Change of clothes? Cloak band?"

"Yes, everythings packed and to the motherfucking earth saying 'T'."

"You're sure? Im not standing here prattling on like an overprotective lusus for the hell of it, Gamzee. At least check that you put your husktop in their so you can troll me when your'r-"

"YES BESTFRIEND, I've up and motherfucking checked, clearly remember putting that shit in there last night after you told me for the hundredth time and even ticked it off your little fucking notebook already. ALONG with everything else you are up to about mentioning." Gamzee snapped.

Karkat stopped marking off everything they had already tucked away into the overflowing bag on Gamzee's computer chair and looked over at the bristling troll glowering at him from his perch on his bed.

"Snappy today aren't we?" Karkat raising his eyebrow, putting his notebook down on the desk he was leaning on.

Gamzee's expression softened instantly andhaving the good grace of looking a bit ashamed of himself for snapping at Karkat like that, he looked down at the floor instead of glaring at Karkat,"Sorry bro…Just motherfucking tired I guess."

Karkat sighed and sat down next to Gamzee on the bed. "Yeah… I imagine you would be."

Gamzee smiled slightly and leaned back onto the bed, shirt dragging up and showing off his long too-skinny-to-have-defined-muscle-but-lo-and-behold-there-they-where abdomen.

"Im touched, there was almost genuine concern in your voice there!" Gamzee teased.

"Shut it nookstain! I am overly concerned for your scrawny ass on a level that isn't even considered healthy half the time!" Karkat smirked, slapping Gamzee's exposed stomach and successfully drawing a protesting yelp from Gamzee, who was ignored as Karkat ploughed on just to drive his point home.

"And MAYBE if a certain asshat I know, who I won't care to mention. Though I will say that he's a Tall, unbathed, scrawny fucker, you might know him, would happen to LISTEN to me every so often then we could cross _scrawny _and _unbathed _off the list of shit I am currently forced to remind you to do every day!"

"Aww, thanks best friend. Nice to know a motherfucker cares." Wheezed out before coughing and curled up slightly with his arms around his stomach.

"Shit, did I hurt you? Fuck! Sorry, shit I didn't hit you THAT hard!?" Leaning over to have a look at the decent sized slap mark he'd left on Gamzee's stomach before Gamzee was waving him and his concern away.

"Calm yourself bro, it's just a little-"Gamzee stopped, wincing but managing to sit up and take over Karkat's earlier position, before he'd sat down to check things off, of restless pacing, panting softly under his breath and hoping Karkat wouldn't notice, "Just- Just a little ache, that's all."

There was a long silence for a while before Karkat spoke again, "Where does it hurt Gamzee?"

Gamzee groaned and stopping his pacing in front of the bed before promptly face planting down next to Karkat, making the bed bounce from the sudden weight hitting it.

"Does It motherfucking matter?" Gamzee groaned into the sheets. He didn't say it, but he thought it would be in everyone's best interests if they were to up and leave soon...

The entire day had been pretty good for Gamzee, nothing overly extraordinary had really happened and it had been a normal Friday at school. But somewhere around 11am he had started to twitch and jump about, especially at the loud environment of the school. He hadn't quite been able to get his head around the unfiltered sound of CONSTANT noise all the time, never stopping for even a second.

_Motherfuck why won't the voices STOP_.

He wasn't exactly sure how he'd survived the onslaught of noise the bells gave off every hour, though he was pretty sure that it had something to do with eventually giving up at around fourth period and just sticking his head into his bag before the bell would go off.

Hadn't done much of a motherfucking thing to block out the main noise the bell gave off, but it was still marginally better than walking straight under it as it went off.

_This wasn't like the first time. _

He kept trying to convince himself otherwise, but it was just _wrong. Wasn't the same, wasn't the same, WASN'T THE FUCKING SAME._

This wasn't just occasionally shakes or the sensation of an overhyped energy rush like before. This was like a winding spring. He felt like his body was slowly winding up to something and the longer the day wore on the harder it was to ignore the building pressure and yes, occasional pangs of pain shooting through him.

Karkat kept a close eye on him as the day went by, observing him, keeping him from swatting at any poor motherfucker that walked too close to him. And he hadn't given a damn, for once, Gamzee was glad that Karkat was there to keep him in check.

The plan was to wait till it was getting dark and then leave after grabbing his 'overnight' bag. From there they would wing it to the abandoned storage station. They had their cover story out in the open for the others to see it and hopefully, no one would suspect a thing, or god forbid try and tag along. Apparently they were going to visit Dirk on the issue of transportation because they had been blowing all their human boonbucks on taxi's and buses and god only knew what else, seeing as they needed all the money they could get JUST to feed all sixteen ravenous occupants of the building without the added stress on money for bus fares. Aaaaand maybe all the pizza and Chinese food deliveries they had been surviving off of for the past few days since Gamzee was pretty much the only person in the building, besides maybe John but HE refused to do any kind of baking (a father who was obsessed with baking and three years of Nanasprite finding any excuse to bake a cake would do that to a bloke.) And since they were practically the only two who knew how to even remotely cook anything edible other than a pot noodle the others may or may not have been a TAD bit dependant on the rotating 'I give a shit now, Ima cook something' roster that Gamzee and John shared at completly random times. And since Gamzee just hadn't been feeling up to cooking of late, and John just didnt have the time, the others had to suck it up and order out.

No one was complaining.

Realising that he might just doze off Gamzee yawned and stretched in an attempt to keep from napping, kicking his leg out to stretch his tail as best he could in the binding before a sharp _jabbing _pain shot through the length of it.

Biting his lip and keeping his face in the duvet so Karkat wouldn't hear the low groan that got past his throat. It seemed they WERE going to have to leave a little earlier than planned…

Gamzee was drawn from his thoughts when Karkat sighed audibly and stood up. His shitty bed creaking and groaning in protest at the sudden loss of weight as Karkat walking as carefully as he could through the small layer of trash and clothes on Gamzee's floor to the large bag slung over his computer chair.

"Ready to go?" holding the bag out to Gamzee, with some difficulty, and his band earing in the other.

Gamzee, breathing out with a shudder as he hauled himself stiffly to his feet, taking the heavy bag from Karkat with only a small 'huff' of noise at the weight.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

~!~

Turns out that PLANNING to sneak out unnoticed and actually DOING it happened to be two VERY different things.

Walking as quickly as they could down the hallways and taking the stairs so they didn't have to wait for the transportaliser, they were making good progress...before coming to the real challenge.

The main corridor and the open living room door.

"OK" Karkat started in an overly hushed whisper and turning towards Gamzee. "When I count to three we both shimmy our asses across the threshold and to freedom, out to the road and yonder. But we've got to be QUIET. I want to AVOID confrontation so no fucking glomping around and fucking stallin-"

"Hi Karkat!" an overly bright voice chimed out, making Karkat near piss himself in surprise at the voice directly behind him and whirl around.

_OH_, of _COURSE_ it was John.

While Karkat had whirled around with the grace of a fucking pirouette off the godamn handle, Gamzee had almost jumped high enough that if he had been jumping horizontally instead of vertically he would have well cleared the door and made it halfway to the door and to 'freedom' as Karkat had called it, but both of their faces were almost comical in their shock.

"Where are you two going?" John said quirking an eyebrow as Karkat continued spluttering and hissing like an angry cat as he tried to form a coherent sentence.

Gamzee just froze like a deer in the headlights. Maybe if he stood PERFECTLY STILL, John wouldn't see him and move on... wait, Didn't that only work on those big-jawed-reptilian fuckers from that park?

"I- we, we're- are! WE!, were just setting off for Dirks!" Karkat spluttered out half unintelligently, Gamzee risking movement by rolling his eyes at how smooth his brother was at diffusing the situation. Probably a spy or some other sort of sneaky fucker in a past life.

Karbro was just THAT smooth.

"Why were you whispering and sneaking about then? And wasn't Equius saying something about wanting to check out Dirks new robot models?" Jade piped up from around the door where she had sauntered over, figuring that this was the perfect time to drop into the conversation.

"We were NOT sneaking!" Karkat fumed, he did not fucking need this right now.

"Uh, dude you totally were" Dave yelled from inside the room.

"Yeah, you need to work on that Karkles, you never were the quietest of trolls! We all heard you."

Karkat was getting steadily redder and angrier at each new voice in to their sneaking failure. "Did ANYONE in there happen to NOT hear us?" Terezi's cackling travelling clearly through to the hallway.

"So why where you sneaking out?" John asked frowning.

"BECAUSE assholes, maybe we didn't want to disturb any of you in the mild hope that you would fucking learn something from this amazing experience and next time you go out for milk you won't find it in your best interests to come wake me up or some shit and inform me of this stunning new revelation and just GO without disturbing the entire fucking house!" Karkat lashed out verbally, grabbing Gamzee's arm after he had cleared the path for the two of them to slip past John as he recoiled and managed to rush past Jade, and everyone ELSE for that matter, while they were distracted and out through the door. Surprised silence covered the room with the loud bang of the door that signalled they had left.

"…Did any of that seem weird to you?" John turned towards the group after a brief silence "I mean sure Karkat's snappy, but that wasn't like him."

"Dude let it go; they probably just didn't want Equius to tag along with them." Dave stated without looking up from his food.

"I still think it's odd that's all." John huffed as he sat back down at the counter.

Jade sat down next to John and folded he hands under her chin "John's got a point Dave, haven't you noticed how those two slink around all the time? Methinks that something smells rotten in Washington!"

"Well Gamzee certainly does." Terezi commented with a distasteful sniff.

"What?" Dave turned from his leftovers, finally lured into the conversation in the hopes of gaining some ammo against the clown in their strictly ironic gibe war.

"Honestly all of you and your inferior scent glands! Haven't any of you noticed! He reeks like sewer!" Screwing up her nose as though to get the point across better.

"He does not Terezi; you've just been sniffing too many marker pens again." Dave teased going back to his Chinese before she leant in and smacked his shoulder.

"Well maybe not like a SEWER. But he smells… Different. Kind of more sour like… It's hard to explain, like he's normally smells like sweet grape and purple. But now there's…something mixed in and making it smell like sour grapes and NOT purple."

"So you saying now INSTEAD of smelling like day old Grape faygo he smells like a freshly opened **_warhead*_**?"

"Dave, I know not of what a human 'warhead' even IS or why it would taste remotely GOOD."

"Aw man, you haven't lived yet, and I take full responsibility for this tragedy. We are heading to the corner store tomorrow at dawn and buying a shit tonne of those delicious confectionaries to complete your life."

Out on the streets Karkat and Gamzee had already made it around the block by the time Dave had promised to 'Enlighten the life of Terezi Pyrope'. Walking in almost silence with Karkat grumbled occasionally, taking the time to swat at a poor lone can on the road with his foot with enough force to send it skittering down the street on its lonely abused path with a newly formed dent in its side. Gamzee finally worked up the courage to turn his head to Karkat who was still walking with a stomp in his step and an occasional grumble under his breath.

"Smooooooth back there brother-"

"Gamzee, you say another word and I WILL end you."

~!~

It was about seven pm by the time they reached the storage garage, and given the fact they had been trekking through muddy and livestock filled fields to get there, Gamzee was surprised that Karkat had calmed down at all. Especially after tripping and almost landing head over ass down into a muddy pond…or FULLY into the pond anyway, he did managed to soak his pants from the shins down, and he WASN'T very happy about that either. Seeing as it was probably almost below zero degree's out in this fucking field and he was now covered in mud and weed it was fully understandable if he was a little pissed off.

But Karkat was still…Calm? Collected? Vigilant?

Maybe Karkat had come to the realisation that he would need to stay calm if he was going to be of any comfort or help to Gamzee leading up to…THAT. And as the minutes ticked by, the winces would work their way through Gamzee's blank demeanour and become clearer to Karkat each time he saw Gamzee stumbled in the mud, Gamzee found he really would need his help to get through this and he was thankful Karkat was here with him.

Finally making it past the dozing and moon eyed cattle in the fields around their location as they rolled the door open with some *considerable* effort and stepped inside.

They had left the 'overnight' bag in another room for the next morning and had stashed his husktop in a small space in a wall, out of reach until Gamzee needed to troll Karkat the next morning just in case something went down. Karkat, taking off his band as soon as they were done storing there bag next to the control panel made Gamzee unbind his tail and deactivate his band as well, also making him take off his shirt so nothing would tear just for good measure.

Gamzee passed the little time he had before they entered the large cold room they had chosen for…THAT, looking at the stats on the door. The small screen set into the side of the garage door near the tiny grid window set into the door itself. Going over the codes for the steel doors they had alchemised into the building to replace the thin iron roll down door that had stood there before, checking over and over again at its resilience levels and wear and tear levels were good enough before Karkat was dragged him away from the stats grid and making him sit down in the dark room. Shuddering Gamzee curled his tail around his legs and scratched uneasy lines into the floor beside him while Karkat sighed heavily and sat down next to him.

_Nothing to do now but wait._

But Gamzee couldn't stay still for long and soon he was up and having trouble stopping. Pacing back and forth, making use of the small open area as best he could as he fretted, occasionally glancing over at Karkat who watched him pace like the chime on a grandfather clock patiently.

"…maybe you should leave? I mean it's not safe for you in here, It aint up and safe I mean what if-" Gamzee started anxiously.

"GAMZEE, Im not leaving you in here alone. It's only seven thirty, we've got hours yet and you OBVIOUSLY need me in here to calm your ass down." Karkat leant back on his hands and closed his eyes with a sigh, bringing one hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose absently.

"But-"

"I said NO! Im not leaving you alone until I have to get the fuck out." Karkat snapped, bringing his hand back down and glaring at Gamzee, mentally telling him to calm his tits and sit back down.

"…thank you, Karkat"

Karkat looked up surprised at how solemn Gamzee sounded, "Im fucking touched, there was almost genuine gratitude in your voice" Karkat smirked, echoing Gamzee's earlier gibe.

Gamzee chuckled and started up pacing again "'Cause there was bro, and Im not up and about to hit a motherfucker for stating the truth neither!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Ha, you don't have to be apologising to me, told you it was all up and fine-" Gamzee stopped mid-sentence with a sharp intake of breath and doubled over with a groan.

"Shit Gamzee, what hurts? Wait, already?! It's to fucking early!" Karkat exclaimed, started to get up before Gamzee straightened up with a grunt and resumed pacing, panting audibly now and curling his arms around his abdomen, still hunched over some, ears and tail flicking with unease.

"It's not the motherfucking same."

"What do you mean it's not the same?!"

"As in its motherfucking different from before!" Gamzee groaned as he straightened up completely and leant against a wall, starting to pant heavier.

"And your telling me this now?! How early on did this start?"

"About this morning, motherfuck my _head_" Bringing the palm of his hand against his forehead as if he could press his migraine right out of his head. Worry flaring up in his chest when Karkat didn't respond immediately.

"Gamzee, sit down" Gamzee whined as he looked over, calming almost immediately as he was met with Karkat's calm, sympathetic even, expression. As though his morail WASN'T on the verge of snapping and turning into a rampaging beast in god knows how much time they had left.

Gamzee obediently slunk over and slumped to the ground next to Karkat, sprawled out on his belly and gritting his teeth at the way it made his spine feel like it was grating against his skin.

Letting Gamzee set his head on his knee, listening to the sound of Gamzee's tail sliding along the ground heavily after him until it curled around enough that the furred tip was almost tickling Karkat's back, trying not to think of how unnaturally hot Gamzee's skin felt as he set to rubbing his temples slowly in an attempt to alleviate some of the pain. He remembered watching Feferi doing this to Sollux sometimes on the asteroid when his migraines became close to unbearable.

If the relieved sigh and low rumble of approval meant anything to Karkat than the gentle pressure was helping, even if only a little bit, than it was a good sign. This continued for another half hour or so (give or take a few minutes) with an occasional shift from Gamzee or low hiss of pain through his teeth, overshadowing his constant pant. _At least he seems more relaxed _Karkat sighed in relief.

That was at least, until Karkat felt Gamzee tense up completely and almost flip out of his lap with a sharp spasm that buckled his back, Gamzee letting out a strangled gurgle as he pushed himself away from Karkat and across the room before starting to retch in a corner. Karkat quickly stood up and made his way over to Gamzee, trying not to wince at the sight of his morail mumbling and whining in the corner of the room with blood dribbled from his chin onto the floor as he knelt with his head between his elbows shaking.

Karkat bent down to try and help, about to touch his shoulder until Gamzee's panicked muttering over his harsh pants reached his ears.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _no._ Karkat get out, GET OUT" Gamzee's shoulder blades were shaking but he didn't look around or move towards Karkat.

_Time to go, _Karkat thought, quickly stepping out of the room and set to the long process of closing the steel doors.

~!~

Gamzee was still kneeling on the ground panting and clutching his head when he finally heard the last click and thud of the door grow silent and was finally aware of how loud his panting was when compared to the echoing silence of the room. Somehow finding the willpower to get up off the cold ground he pushed himself up until he was standing shakily with the support of the wall.

_FUCK IT BURNED._

This was different; it wasn't even remotely the same as before. It didn't sneak up on him and then suddenly tear his body asunder like last time.

This was coming in motherfucking _waves _and _spasms_ that pounded throughout his body harder and faster with each passing.

Wailing as another wave of pain shook through his core unexpectedly he had to grip the wall to stay upright, claws screeching against the metal as he dragged them down the wall in search of some form of purchase, ANY form of purchase against this pain, until the wave passed.

Panting as the last wave finally ended after what felt like an eternity and he was left standing there, already fairly drenched in sweat and new blood running down his chin, bottom lip ripped and ragged from biting into it to stop his screaming. Fuck that last one had been the strongest yet. But it didn't feel like things were any closer to finishing, hell he'd probably sent Karkat out well before he had needed to go, but there was no way in hell Gamzee was going to ask him back in. He was safe out there.

He didn't want Karkat seeing him like this _again_.

He set up to pacing again, mumbling to himself in a vain attempt of distraction as he waited for the next wave to hit. Wondering if Karkat was watching him or if he was hiding somewhere in another room with his hands over his ears trying to block out his screams? He wouldn't even hold it against Karkat to just leave him, get him in the morning along with the other broken pieces of Gamzee that he felt were scattered around the room. Trying to think around the pains in his joints as he walked and trying to ignore the burn beneath his brow he kept his thoughts occupied on happier things.

'_Motherfuckers at home are safe. You're up and locked up, they're safe. That's why you're here, to keep them safe' _Gamzee could smile at that.

He kept pacing, kept moving, stayed on his feet, tried to think around the barrage of waves that were getting more painful and frequent.

Clenching his jaw shut he bore the next wave in silence, digging his claws into his sides to try and vent the pain, only succeeding on getting even more blood on himself from the small cuts now in his sides. Gasping raggedly when it passed and ended almost as quickly as it had started, '_motherfuck, when would it end?!'_

Sooner than Gamzee thought.

A final excruciating pound of his head sent vibrations running up and down his horns before the burn lifted, leaving behind a strange moment where nothing hurt and it seemed like time had stopped for a second.

A moment of silence, of weightlessness. Like the moment when you reach the top of the rollercoaster and you can see the drop but gravity just hadn't caught up with you yet and pulled you down.

Before the screams started and you begin to feel that maybe getting on _THIS_ roller coaster wasn't such a good idea after all.

Gamzee yelled out and clutched his chest as he felt his pulse quicken drastically and his heart try to pound its way straight through his chest. Staggering two steps away from the wall before he was literally knocked down from the sheer power of the pain coursing through his body, finally losing any sense of willpower to stay quiet he let the screams echo freely, screaming himself hoarse into the floor and to the walls and ceiling as they echoed his screams right back at him as his body stretched and bent him into a new shape.

Trying to raggedly pull air into his lungs as his back bent and snapped and his head grew heavy with a new weight he wasn't accustomed to. Trying not to vomit as his eyes burnt in their sockets and he saw his claws grown and gleam threateningly in the little light available while more indigo blood dripped onto the floor from his back.

And then in a sudden flurried moment, with a final convulsion and agonising crack he was flinging his head back in a last ear splitting scream that sounded more like a roar, falling back down to the ground with a thud as his hands caught him at the last moment.

And all in that sudden moment, a moment that barely lasted longer than a minute.

_He was no longer Gamzee._

_But a snarling, raging creature wearing a faint imitation of his skin._

~ O-O ~

_*AN: for all those who are wondering what a warhead is, it's a sort of hard candy we have here in Australia (don't know if it's sold anywhere else but maybe it is and this AN isn't needed but to hell with it) and it is SO sour and just generally freaking INTENSE and BLARGH on the outside. And you have to suck through the outer layer of Blargh, sour and intense until you get to this awesomely sweet and amazing centre that makes it ALL worth it! just don't try to eat eleven at once. BAAAAAAAAAAD Idea bro's!_

**_WHOOOOOOO! WE FINALLY GOT PAST 50,000 WORDS! THAT'S 100 PAGES PEOPLE! EVERYONE. THE DRINKS ARE ON ME! *let's get this flash rave party started!* as a celebration let's see if we can get the reviews up or even beyond 50 as well! _**

**_I tip my tiny top hat and shout encouragingly!_**

**_GO GO GO GO GO GO GO!_**


	15. Of Inquiries and Automobiles

**_Oh dear…I am _****_NOT _****_in the slightest bit happy about this chapter, I had the biggest block halfway through so I was constantly rewriting so I went back to the reviews and BOOM! Sudden Inspiration! Or at least enough to get myself through this chapter and onto better things. _**

**_Someone should take my keyboard away from me. =m=_**

**_Chapter 15: Of Inquiries and Automobiles. _**

Karkat was currently on a train.

Ok, maybe we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves without explaining first.

What events leading up to him getting ON the train, or even sitting down on the slightly sticky and uncomfortable plastic padded seat, occasionally eyeing off the hobo sleeping next to him as said hobo tilted ever closer with every jolt of the train, had yet to be explained. In fact, Karkat was still having second thoughts himself about even getting on this steam powered modus from hell in the first place. But there WAS one thing Karkat was sure of. If that hobo leant any further towards him or god forbid TOUCHED him. He was going to steal his coin can and hurl it out the godamn window.

But that still didn't explain why Karkat was on a train.

Well it most CERTAINLY wasn't for the fucking first class quality transport that's for sure!

This human transportation modus was horrible! He was cold but the air was clammy and stuffy, his ass hurt from sitting down too long but he dared not stand up, least he be sent careening down the fucking carriage, and to top it all off _sweet holy human-baby JESUS _it smelt bad.

Or maybe that was the hobo? Nope, definitely the train. The hobo smelt like sweet daisies and primroses compared to the fucking musk the train gave off with its vile vapours.

Godamnit, this was NOT how he had envisioned spending his Friday night at all.

But he was going to deal with it, god knew he'd been through worse and he wasn't about to lie down and call it quits just because of a little train pain….Heh, that rhymed.

Oh god he was starting to look at the brighter side of things, the smell was obviously starting to affect his think pan.

Passing the time was a pain in the ass as well.

Karkat kicked his feet slightly, glancing down at his watch every once in a while, occupying most of his time by drawing patters on the roof of the carriage with his eyes and estimating how many seconds had passed each time without looking at his watch and wondering how much longer he'd be on this damn thing and at what time he'd be getting back to Gamzee. Karkat sighed and slumped further into his seat, he wished he hadn't had to leave him alone like that. But then again it wasn't like he'd had much choice on the matter, and it wasn't like he didn't think he could have stayed and listened to Gamzee scream and thrash about.

How was it even possible for Gamzee to be in that much fucking pain?

And even if he had sucked it the fuck up and stayed with Gamzee until the screams had descended into soft growls and snarls, he didn't trust himself not to pass out with fright every time Gamzee hurled himself at the door. Besides, he still had more shit to do tonight.

Shit to do, people to see.

As it turns out, Karkat hadn't been lying to the others about Dirks offer; he'd just lied about GAMZEE coming along with. Present company included, he kinda wished Gamzee WAS sitting next to him… And not in a fucking deserted building in the middle of _'fuck knows'_ and '_Wait no. this is a muddy field. We'er in a godamned muddy field full of starry eyed moo beast.'_

…God he was worried.

He'd stayed until Gamzee had stabilised and stopped screaming, being the good morail he was, he stayed until he was sure Gamzee was content with snarling and clawing the walls around him. Gamzee seemed to be happy enough with climbing about in the roof's rafters and sniffing around for interesting shit in the random rubble piles. He wasn't really concerned about Gamzee getting OUT, but more so about someone going IN.

Because man, Gamzee made a hell of a lot of noise! He was far enough in the middle of nowhere that the only attention he was going to be drawing was probably from the local cattle. But still…

What if someone DID hear him? What would happen if he SOMEHOW got out? Or hell, if some stupid fucker went right ahead and LET him out. It would only take some stupid human to figure out how to open the steel doors and then BAM! He'd have to deal with a body, and most likely, have to go looking for Gamzee.

That is, if he hadn't already gotten himself killed by the masses of people out in the country who most likely owned a shotgun.

Or what if he injured himself? Last time this had happened Gamzee had been covered in scratches and gashes, and he'd managed to do that to himself in his basement, Karkat's basement full of CLOTHING and WOOD. What the fuck would he be capable of doing to himself in a cold desolate room with RAGGED METAL and rafters to climb about in? Oh shit, what if he got too cold?! He knew for a FACT that Gamzee could stomach the cold without the need of at least three jumpers and a blanket cacoon like the rest of the sooks he bunked with… or hell, even him (though, Karkat just didn't like the cold in general). But Karkat ALSO knew that Gamzee's colder blood wasn't designed to deal with outwards changing temperatures. Sure, even if it constantly stayed at negative temperatures he'd be fine even without a jumper, worst thing that could happen is he'd get sluggish, but this damn planets ever changing temperature variables could kill him! Fuck now he was just being stupid but what if!-

Karkat was so set on worrying about Gamzee that he didn't noticed that the train was approaching his stop and slowing down until he felt the thing shudder to a stop with a wheeze, jolting forward and almost throwing Karkat from his seat. Karkat groaned as he FINALLY got the chance to stretch his legs out after being stationary for waaaaay too long, only to almost trip into the gap in the platform in his haste to get off the damn thing and then almost get his leg caught in the door as he tried to regain his balance with as much grace as executing a graceful pirouette off the handle with stylish grace. Swearing loudly and getting strange looks from passers-by before the doors shut behind him fully with a loud hostile clang and a hiss as it started to move away moments later.

Scowling back at the train as though it was able to pick up his disdain for the loathsome contraption as it left, Karkat walked quickly down the platform and to the street to get his bearings.

Where the fuck was a map or a street sign? Pulling the sheet of directions he had jotted down out of his pocket and trying to squint in the darkness before he realised it was just the writing that was unrecognisable. He then spent approximately the next five minutes staring blankly at the paper, trying to decipher his own rushed and indecipherable scrawls before scrunching it up and shoving it back into his pocket, confident he already knew where the fuck he was going anyway…Sort of?

And he was hoping he got there soon because JESUS it was cold out here, nowhere near snowing-with-a-blizzard-blowing-down-your-neck cold, but certainly cold enough to see his frosty breath billow out in front of him like he was Puff the magic dragon as he walked.

It was going to be a long, loooong night.

~!~

"So where the fuck would you happen to be storing these mechanical death machines?" Karkat snapped as soon as the pleasantries were over with and he had dealt with the large, slightly awkward drunk glomp hug from Roxy and the hand breaking handshake from Jake. Sitting only semi-awkwardly, half on half off the only other couch the alpha kids seemed to own he tried not to spill his (ridiculously unnecessary) hot tea on Jane, who was currently passed out across half of the couch with a book on her face. No seriously, why the fuck had he been given tea? Was he supposed to drink that shit? Aside from the fact that coffee was FAR superior it seemed stupid seeing as he was planning on only staying at the Alpha kids house for less than ten minutes if possible.

Karkat had FINALLY managed to find the godamn house after circling the street three times and walking past it twice by accident. Oh you know, just happened to walk past the ONLY HOUSE ON THE BLOCK WITH A GODAMN VERITABLE JUNGLE OUTSIDE. No seriously, gardening wasn't a thing for the alpha kids was it? Not asking for much, but would it kill them to cut SOME of the grass so he could see the front freaking doo-

Ok no. He was almost positive he'd seen some kind of stripe-beast slink off into the undergrowth over by the mailbox.

Keeping an eye out for any MORE potential predators in the long grass (godamn it this was ridiculous, he was starting to feel like a fiduspawn trainer in the long grass) as he'd walked up the treacherous pathway(?) and finally found the front door. Coming to a stop outside the door and knocking dully on the faded palm wood as he waited for someone to open the door and let him in, after another few minutes in the frozen jungle he was let inside and the pre-mentioned greetings happened. Leading to him sitting down on the ALSO pre-mentioned, very lumpy, couch.

"Well I wouldn't say STORED just yet, shit has to be made before it can be stored away" Dirk replied (to previous statement that had ALSO been mentioned) as he leant back further into the opposite chair from Karkat.

"Wait, so your telling me, that after YOU invited and dragged me out of my warm home with the tantalising promises of no more fucking bus fares or that I may be able to get from one place to another without having to listen to ANOTHER old decrepit lady talk about her fifty seven cats, JUST so you could crush any hope in me as you point out that there not even HERE AT ALL?!"

Dirk chuckled and leant forward "And how were you planning on getting them back even if I had them? You planning on carrying them back? Have a handy Because I don't think public transport let you take pets, bombs or carried vehicles on them."

"I-" Well shit, he hadn't thought that far ahead had he? "So your telling me that this was a wasted trip?!"

"Well no, not exactly. But if you'd calm your tits and have a look at these I think you'll find this interesting enough to stop wasting all our SHARED money on random shit." He leant forward and pulled two Captchalogue cards out of his pocket and laid them on the table.

Karkat raised an eyebrow at the empty cards "So? I see two empty Captchalogue cards that wouldn't possible be big enough to hold any form of vehicle other than a flimsy one wheeled scooter. Your point?"

"Dude, how the hell were you smart enough to become leader? Im not going to be putting the PHYSICAL freaking 'vehicles' into these babies, im going to try and rip the codes off cars that happen to take my fancy and install them onto the disc. Sollux should be able to alchemies these yeah? That way you'll get maybe four or five cars per card."

"Isn't that illegal?" Karkat asked, being the ever lawful citizen, least Terezi smell wrong doings on him when he got back.

"Well maybe if you hadn't managed to spend so much godamn money we would have enough to buy them LEGALLY, but that isn't going to be happening now is it?"

Karkat smirked, he might be the leader of his group, but there was no way of stopping useless spending when it was so much fun. Because, holy shit, Earth had a lot of useless awesome shit.

"Ok fair enough, so how long are we expecting to have to wait then?"

"About another few days, maybe a week." Dirk shrugged as Karkat coughed some of his tea from his windpipe and back into the cup after inhaling some of the scolding liquid unwisely.

"Jesus that's quick." Karkat managed to cough out as he set his cup back down and covered his mouth to stop the noise from waking Jane up, which wasn't really necessary, because she had started snoring.

Or gargling gravel, he wasn't sure.

Dirk leant back in his chair "Well one thing can be said for us Striders, we get shit done."

Karkat scoffed and stood up, "Obviously, especially that OTHER Strider I know of, Astounding fellow he is with his impeccable skill of being able to get shit all done in the ways of cleaning his shit that he's left from one end of the house to the other."

"Ok now you're pushing it."

"Well it's only the truth. So is that it? Can I piss off back home now?"

Dirk looked surprised "What? That's it, you weren't even going to stay for longer than an hour tops? You wound us Karkat, thought you'd be missing us more than that."

Karkat shrugged the sarcasm off "As much as I want to stay and listen to Jane try out her best lawnmower impersonation, Which doesn't help THE FRONT LAWN, seriously there REALLY should be a real mower out from cutting down the foreign flora AND fauna that has sprung up and taken residence on your lawn, I've got more shit to do tonight."

Dirk furrowed his brow but didn't question Karkat "Well seeing as all other company available is either asleep, drunk or currently absent; I think you might be right. I'll call you in a few days then and personally throw in a free delivery robot so I don't have to trek down to your place." Dirk said getting up and leading Karkat to the door.

"God, you're not going to give Equius MORE shit to dismantle are you?"

"….He's been dismantling my robots?" Dirk froze in the doorway.

"Well more or less delicately pried open, and more or less tampered with slightly."

"God, just get out before I find out something else I don't want to know about what he's been doing to my robots."

"Oh yeah! You should have seen the amazing lump of decimated metal he called an improved blender last wee-"

"NOPE. No, not listening to you anymore, get out."

Karkat quickly stepped out of the way of the slamming door with a short bark of laughter, well at least he'd gotten a laugh out of the night.

~!~

"Hey Vriska?" John asked, looking away from the TV screen and looking up from his position on the floor to an upside down Vriska who was happily munching popcorn.

"Yeah John?" Vriska said, popping a few more popcorn kernels into her already overstuffed mouth and staring almost reverently at the screen where 'Ghost rider' was playing on the shitty television rigged up and covered in wires in the living room.

"Does Karkat seem to be acting… Strange to you? Well, stranger than normal?" John fidgeted with his thumbs as he looked up from his spot on the couch.

"If we're talking about weird shit happening than I don't know where you've been for the last few weeks, actually no, make that years." Vriska snorted, shoving the bowl of buttery-popped-corn away from her and towards John. "Now stuff your face and shut your mouth! Nick is about to burst into flames and kick some ass!"

"Im being serious!" John whined.

Vriska sighed; John wouldn't let this go anytime soon would he? Rolling her eye and flipping back around from her upside down position on the couch she faced him.

"If anyone's acting weird around here than its Gamzee, Karkat's probably just helping him out with whatever's eating him."

"Oh…so what's wrong with Gamzee?"

"Dunno, apart from not being his happy go-fucking-lucky self he seems fine to me, Terezi's been spouting some bullshit about him smelling different. Like _"Sour grape and NOT purple."_ Or some shit like that. But honestly John, what I can't believe is that the BLIND chick noticed something before you! You need to get your head out of the clouds!"

"I'm perfectly happy up in the clouds thank you very much! And it's hard to notice anything _'stranger than normal, give or take a few years'_ going on with them when there SNEAKING about. Kinda defeats the purpose of sneaking if they run around waving their arms about and being 'stranger than normal' right in front of everyone!" John retorted.

"Yeah well, as much as the weather has been affecting your brain, I do agree with you… those two have been acting strange lately, MUCH stranger than normal."

"We were normal once?" John raised an eyebrow in mock disbelief.

"Vaguely, at one point in time or rather, but your right. Whatever their sneaking about and doing I want to know."

"You don't mean we're going to-"

"Exactly that John! We are going adventuring, and the treasures we are seeking are secrets." Vriska cut him off "Pack your shit; we're moving out at the break of dawn."

"Seriously? And what's your game plan here? Hide in Karkat's closet eavesdropping until something pops up?" John raised an eyebrow at Vriska, who pouted in consideration before smiling impishly.

"That's a brilliant plan John, as of tomorrow operation 'Stalk Karkat's living quarters' is a go. Way to contribute to the team there John."

John chuckled and leaned back before a thought struck him. "Do you think Tavros will want in as well? He's your morail after all."

Vriska sighed and pulled the bowl back towards her, hugging it in the absence of a pillow "Nah, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Huh? Why not? You two are like connected at the hip half the time; actually you were at one point? Combined I mean."

"Yeah well… He hasn't exactly been sociable the last couple of days."

"Why? What happened?" John scooted closer, curiously.

"Well you remember after your party a couple a weeks ago-"

"Last month?"

The sound of a small click interrupted the near silence, if you didn't count the sounds of Nic cage as a flaming skull headed guy on a hell motorbike playing from the television. Vriska paid the noise no mind, assuming it was just the building creaking or something, and kept speaking.

"I don't know why you keep interrupting me with your stupid earth measurements, but yeah- a month ago, well Gamzee kinda blew Tavros off. And before you ask, YES that's a pretty big thing to do to someone after they've confessed red feelings seeing as to get to that point you need to trust that troll NOT to rip out your giblets. And well…Tavros didn't take it too well. He should have vented it out by now but he's…not, and it's just… I don't even know what's going on! Those two have been waxing red for each other for, I don't even know, maybe sweeps now? and now all of a sudden Gamzee's acting like a prissy highblood and acting like Tav is below him or something and not speakin' to him and just!- Im just pissed off ok? It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't help that Gamzee has pretty much stopped talking to anyone but Karkat. And Puaaaaaaaapa over here won't tell me anything else and all I can really go by is that Gamzee's a douche and needs to pay. "

"So this is all about revenge now huh?"

"Yes and no. I want to say im doing this for Tavros, but if I did anything to the fucking stoner I'd just hurt Tavros even more. And that's just the opposite of what I want. So you and me, we're going secret hunting and finding out what the hell has been going on. Just so I know whether or not I have full right to kick Gamzee in the bulge so hard the imperial drones will cringe in sympathy!"

John rolled his eyes "Right, so that would make your intentions totally justified when you knee him in the 'bulge' anyway." John sighed "So I guess that means no telling Tavros then?"

"Nope, I don't want him to get his panties in a twist any more than they already are at the moment."

"Ok, so to recap that. Stalk our roommates, Keep it secret, and under no circumstances are we to tell Tavros. That the plan then?"

"To the T-"

"Your plan is stupid." A familiar voice rang out.

They _really _should have paid attention to the sound of the door closing earlier.

Both John and Vriska froze in shock, turning around sharply in unison to look over the couch in the direction of the voice, only to see Tavros leaning on the counter with his library bag next to him and glaring at them through heavily bagged eyes.

"T-Tavros! It's really late for you to be up-"Vriska stammered in an effort to distract him while John just smiled awkwardly and decided to keep his trap closed while also trying to meld into the floor and disappear, possibly even abscond if he could.

"Your plan is stupid, and it won't work." Tavros repeated, voice harsh, tilting his head slightly to get a better view of Vriska and John hiding behind the couch.

Aforementioned Vriska and John were almost shocked into complete silence by his sharp retort. So much for the plan, but then again they should have known better than to openly just blurt out 'secret plans' in the middle of the kitchen/dining/living room.

"….How long have you been standing there?" Vriska peeked over the couch slowly.

"Long enough."

"…we were going to tell you, really" Vriska sighed, hauling herself up properly and kneeling on the cushions.

"Oh yeah, I got that from the whole 'DON'T TELL TAVROS' part of your 'plan'." Tavros growled.

John ducked his head down into his god tier pajamas but Vriska leaned over the back of the couch further with a scowl.

"Well we weren't going to tell you because we knew you'd act like this!"

"Anyone would act like this if they found out you're going to be practically…STALKING someone wherever they go!"

"Well it's not like you're doing anything to find out what's wrong! And why do you care so much about what they think anyway, they haven't told us what they're doing so we just won't tell them!" Vriska snapped back, she was honestly getting a little mad at Tavros, one for not doing anything and two for defending Gamzee as well! Oh yeah and Karkat as well, but she knew who he was vouching for more, didn't take a genius to figure it out either!

"You're not even a little curious?! You haven't done anything but mope for the past few weeks!"

"Month-"

"Shut up John! Point is, aren't you even a LITTLE curious to why Gamzee and Karkat are sneaking about? Do you even care?!"

Tavros stepped forward away from the counter, folding his arms as he responded snappily, "Of course I freaking care-"

"Then why haven't you DONE anything?!"

Tavros looked away from her, eyes finding a spot in the corner and directing his anger out on that instead of Vriska. "Because I can't get anywhere near him that's why!" Tavros snapped before letting his arms fall to his sides, "And partially because im part of the proble-"

"OH NO. Stop, fucking stop your mouth flapping for two seconds and stop blaming yourself." Vriska glared at him, they were NOT having this conversation again.

Tavros let out a humorless chuckle and slouching back against the counter behind "That's exactly what he said, not counting the part about, stopping my mouth flapping."

Vriska snapped, she was finally sick of his attitude "Oh my god, get over it! It wasn't your fault, and you know what?! Im sick and tired of your fucking moping! Actually no, I SHOULD say the lack of moping! So he blew you off, SO WHAT? You two have been dancing around the red quadrant for four sweeps now and you know what?! It's no WONDER he finally ditched you after all the bullshit red flirting you've been doing back and forth! He's not even worth anything! You need to accept the fact HE DOESN'T WANT YOU ANYMORE. He's a fucking worthless stoned Highblood who's been playing with your feelings for his own sick pleasure." Tavros physically flinched away from her words like they were a tangible object that had just slapped him across the face.

Vriska finally caught up with what she had just said and covered her mouth in shock, the fuck did she just say?!

Getting up from the couch she quickly maneuvered her way around the couch (read: partly vaulted over) as Tavros went to leave.

"Wait. Shit, I didn't mean that Tavros, im sorry-"Vriska reached out towards Tavros, afraid she had finally crossed the line. _'You insensitive bitch! Why can't you just keep my mouth shut?!' _She scolded herself mentally as she reached out and placed he hand on Tavros's broad shoulders.

"Ok." Tavros said abruptly, stopping in the doorway when he felt her hand.

"Huh?" Vriska stopped walking before she ran into him and dropped her hand, now completely confused at the sudden change in his attitude.

"I won't stop you."

"What? But- but I thought- im so-"Vriska stuttered out in a hardly coherent sentence.

"I'll even help you." Tavros finally turned around and faced her, surprisingly calm and

Vriska stared at Tavros in confusion, what? He wasn't angry? And he was even going to help? Why wasn't he yelling at her?!

"But im only doing this to prove that he IS worth it" Tavros rubbed his arm absent mindedly "And I can't say that I don't want to… not know about what's been going on, so fine. I'll help."

Vriska nodded absentmindedly, still in a state of utter what-the-fuck-just-happened when Tavros held his hand up in front of her face and flicked her forehead, "But there is NO way in hell Im hiding in Karkat's closet to eavesdrop!"

"You're too much of a godamn pushover you know that?" Vriska smiled faintly and batted his hand away

~ O-O ~

**_There is no excuse for how late this chapter was._**

**_WHOA! WRITERS BLOCK! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?! Oh yeah, im a shitty writer *using the term WRITER veeeeeeery loosely here people. Im more akin to a monkey that spends all day on the computer or a cat that sits on your keyboard when you're trying to do important shit and messes everything up.*_**

**_I mean it's not like im lacking the inspiration or whatever; I've got ideas to boot up in my head, but lately I've been looking back at my first few chapters I couldn't help but CRINGE at how bad they are. I mean the storyline is as I wanted it, but the grammar and sentence structure is just ATROCIOUS, pawsitivly AWFUL. And it put me in a shitty mood before I could remind myself to 'stop being so fucking stupid and get on with it! It doesn't matter! It's in the past!' but then I just got an image of anyone reading the first couple chapters having the same reaction as, oh who were they again? Oh yeah, remember those Nazi's in '_****Raiders of the lost ark'****_? Remember that scene where they open the lost ark at the end and then FUCKING MELT *seriously though, that scene scarred my childhood*_**

**_I felt bad for melting people with my shitty writing. Sooooooooo, I stopped being stupid and spent the last couple of weeks SLOWLY re-editing. Almost there ya'll, just a couple more of them there chapters left to edit…ok well maybe seven…crapsicles._**

**_But the new edits that ARE up are practically like whole new chapters *HAH the ones ive done so far are up to chapter 3* so I DO recommend that you read them, if only to indulge this here motherfuckers ego. They still suck but they now at least obey the simple structures of the English godamn language._**

**_SO DON'T JUMP OUT OF YOUR SEATS TO THANK ME! Just put the pitchforks down slowly, im sorry it took a little while to get done. But as a bonus, I'll include one of my many procrastinations while I took a break from editing shitty writing. To write even SHITTIER wri- you get the point._**

_'"Im being serious!" John whined throwing his bowl of __***FROOT LOOPS***__ across the room with hurricane Sandy and then transforming into a giant ape monster while bellowing out 'ZOMG YOLO', and Gamzee and Tavros made out in the corner before retreating into a handy closet to get down and dirty as 'No Crust' by Koo Koo kangaroo played loudly in the background. And all was good in the world.' _I am too tired for my own good.

**_I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL! THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH MY BULLSHIT!_**


	16. PACING!

**_UPDATE! UPDATE! _****_READ_****_ ALL ABOUT IT! _**

**_**snort* see what I did there?!...I get my shits and giggles where they can be had! Never look a gift horse in the mouth!*_**

**_Also, my brain has gone ahead and convinced me that Gamzee's 'changing' is practically the equivalent of a weird ass troll period. I mean think about it. He gets mega pissed, he bloats (kinda? The tail must count for something right?), he has cravings (for flesh, but then again what girl DOESN'T on her period?) he gets pains and he's 'gifted' with this wondrous miracle once a month! Think about it, think about it- DON'T THINK TO HARD…there you go._**

**_Welcome to my brain people, it's a scary place at times…_**

**_And with that lovely thought in all your heads, to the chapter! _**

**_Chapter 16: PACING!_**

Karkat arrived back at the train station at around five thirty the next morning.

At six thirty he managed to make his way through the fields alone in the mostly dawn tinged dark (mostly unscathed or mud blemished) and spot the warehouse in the distance. By seven he had already reached the warehouse and gathered up Gamzee's bag, activating the opening process for the door when he was done before standing there and just staring at the door to Gamzee's cell, not sure whether or not he was ready to look into the cell when the shutter to the viewer port opened up with the activation process.

At seven thirty he finally gathered the courage to peer through the small viewing port and into Gamzee's cell.

And what a sight it was.

Cold early sunlight streamed through small holes in the ceiling down onto the body of the prone figure on the floor, the dawn greeted with the sight of a bloodied alien lying unconscious in what could only be smears of indigo blood and something brighter. The said bloodied figure, of course, being Gamzee had yet to stir, but as Karkat looked over him as he slept he couldn't help but smile softly. Oh Gamzee had gone though some shit last night, through hell and back really, and looked uncomfortable as fuck lying on the ground like that when god knew it was freezing and most probably even colder inside the building than it was outside. But none of that seemed to matter. What mattered was that Gamzee was back to normal. And he was alright.

Well, if you didn't count the blood smeared on the floors and walls that had most likely come from Gamzee's body and…the ripped open meow-beast in the corner.

_'What the fuck?!- How the fuck?...' _Karkat looked over Gamzee and frowned. Well that explained the red around his mouth but not the dead animal lying in the corner with its guts hanging out and half…eaten. Looking around the room to see if there were any holes that the poor fluffy bastard could have crawled in through the walls he found none. But after putting two and two together and looking up he could see that the corrugated iron of the roof was rusty and decayed. Karkat made a mental note to come back later in the week to see what could be done. If he could find the time… And they were running pretty low on grist…

_'Ahh, fuck it.'_ Karkat thought to himself. Gamzee wouldn't be able to fit through those tiny gaps, and he certainly wasnt about to rip his way through the roof while balanced on a beam anytime soon, or even be able to reach it, let alone make a hole big enough to escape through. And besides, only the middle of the roof looked weak enough to break through and from there the beams had long since rotten and fallen down so there was pretty much no way for Gamzee to start breaking anything anywhere near that point. Besides, no one would be fucking stupid enough to climb onto the roof of this shitty building anyway.

Walking away from the window port he circled back around to a side room. Shit, he should have brought his husktop along with him. What was he supposed to do now? Gamzee was passed right the fuck out and looked like he was planning on staying like that for a little while longer. Karkat sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Maybe he could beat himself into a frustrated deadpanned state by playing 3bit snake until Gamzee woke up.

~!~

_'It's cold.'_

_'Why the fuck is it so cold?'_

Gamzee hardly registered his surroundings as he started to stir, not bothering to open his eyes through the pounding headache that riddled his skull as he started to regain consciousness. Fuck, he felt like he'd been hit by a train, rolled down a gorge and then given enough coffees from Starbucks that he'd be hopped up on caffeine for the rest of his life.

Groaning, he rolled onto his back and pressed his eyes shut tighter. His thinkpan was a fuzzy blank and it was hard to see the lines between reality and fantasy. He certainly didn't think he'd be getting up anytime soon. Chancing a glance he opened his eyes slowly before gauging where he was.

He was… exactly where Karkat had left him last night. Thank god.

Groaning again he rolled forward until he was in a sitting position and rubbed his head. He was pretty surprised at how easily he was remembering recent events, especially since last time he'd had trouble even remembering where he was when he woke up. But then again it hadn't been the same as last time. Shuddering as he remembered the burning pain from last night he had fervently wished that his thinkpan would have at least tried to block out some of what happened. Even though he couldn't remember? It was a pretty much a bizarre feeling, how everything suddenly cut off and memory just didn't seem to match up with experience.

Well he could remember how he'd gotten here, so that was a start. Looking around the room he could see the shredded remains of his shirt and some scraps from what looked like his shoes or maybe his socks? Luckily his pants had survived the whole ordeal more or less intact, but they were still torn to shit and didn't offer much in the way of warmth. But it was still better than being starkers '_and seeing your current situation you're in no position to motherfucking complain none.' _

Gamzee sighed and started to stand, using the wall to support most of his weight seeing as his legs just weren't up for the job of holding his scrawny ass up at the moment.

Focusing as best he could, Gamzee set about on the quest to reach the other side of his room without falling on his ass. And _oh, _it was a treacherous journey indeed. Rolling his eyes at the crude humour up in his thinkpan he hobbled over to the rubble pile where he hoped his husktop still was, and 'hoping' was a good term to use seeing as there was debris scattered over the floor this way and that as though a storm had torn at the room.

Well, maybe if storms had claws and bled indigo everywhere in their wake.

Sighing with relief when he saw a flash of purple in the grey he pulled out his still intact husktop and opened it, quickly logging onto trollian and closed all the other chat windows from everyone else. He didn't need to read any of their messages or who they were from to know they were concerned friends asking about what was going on. He certainly didn't need to look at any of them or he might break down again. But that didn't mean he wouldn't catch a glance at the messages before blocking the chat server.

**ectoBiologist [EB]**

EB: hey, Gamzee? whats up with you?

EB: you totally ignored us at lunch today?

EB: are you mad at us or something?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user ectoBiologist [EB]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**?twinArmageddons? [?TA?] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

?TA?: TC, what the fuck man?

?TA?: what ii2 thii2 2hiit? Why the hell did you block me?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user [?TA?]…again**

** *chat log Deleted***

**cuttlefishCuller [CC] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

CC: Gamz—EE! Sollux said you blocked )(im?

CC: Acs)(elly , you )(avent glubbed wit)( me in AG-ES!

CC: Did I make you mad?

CC: Im R-E-ELY sorry if I did.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user cuttlefishCuller [CC]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**arsenicCatnip [AC] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

AC :33 *AC stalks along with a confuzz3d 3xpr3ssion, wondering why h3r clowny furri3nd has not r3pli3d to any of h3r m3ssag3s*

AC 33: Gamz33! We're all pawsitively confuzzled!

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user arsenicCatnip [AC]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**centaursTesticle [CT] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

CT: D- ) Higblood.

CT: D- )This behaviour is E%TREMLY upsetting.

CT: D- ) My Moiral is e%pressing great concern over you lack of social interaction.

CT: D- ) you will cease this tomf001ery this instant.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user centaursTesticle [CT]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**caligulusAquarium [CA] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

GA: Gam, wwhat the fuck do you think you're doin?

GA: evveryone's freakin out cause of you!

GA: not that I care.

GA: But come on Gam, after all we've been through. You can tell little ol' me wwhats been goin on right?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user caligulusAquarium [CA]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**grimAuxiliatrix [GA] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

GA: Gamzee, What Was So Important That You Would Not Even Stop to Talk Or Acknowledge Me Yesterday When I Said Hello?

GA: Or Any Other Time During The Week?

GA: I Promise You That I Do Not Wish To Go Clown Hunting Anytime In The Foreseeable Future.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user grimAuxiliatrix [GA]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**apocalypseArisen [AA] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

AA: Gamzee? Are y0u feeling 0k?

AA: I waved yesterday and y0u didn't even l00k!

AA: *Ribbit*

AA: Damnit!

AA: Just tell me if y0ur 0k, 0k?

AA: 0u0

AA: That still l00ks stupid.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user apocalypseArisen [AA]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**arachnidsGrip [AG] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

AG: The fuck is wrong with you?

AG: Stop ignoring everyone, dum8ass.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user arachnidsGrip [AG]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**gallowsCalibrator [GC] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

GC: H3Y, MR GR4P3 F4YGO!

GC: 34T SOMTH1NG FOR ONC3.

GC: YOU'RE ST4RT1NG TO SM3LL :[

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user gallowsCalibrator [GC]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**gardenGnostic [GG] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

GG: Gamzee? Are you feeling ok?

GG: You haven't hung with us in a while :(

GG: You just stay cooped up in your room! Or you're with Karkat!

GG: If Karkat is being a meanie I can deal with him for you!

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user gardenGnostic [GG]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**tentacleTherapist [TT] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

TT: your absence from the group has caused quite an uproar, Gamzee.

TT: Do you perhaps need someone to talk to?

TT: Because I can offer my aid if you are wanting of it.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user tentacleTherapist [TT]**

** *chat log Deleted***

**turntechGodhead [TG] started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

TC: yo, Clown face.

TC: Count your blessings, I'm not here to tear you a new one with my ill and strict beats.

TC: To put it bluntly.

TC: What's been going on with you dawg?

TC:…..

TC: Dude, you there?

TC: Sopor doper?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user turntechGodhead [TG]**

_** *chat log Deleted* **_

**adiosToreador started trolling terminallyCapricious [TC]**

AT: gAMZEE?,,,

AT: sORRY,,,yOU'RE PROBABLY, STILL ANGRY AT ME, OR SOMETHING, BUT,,,

AT:,,,uMM….. aRE YOU OK?

AT: I MEAN,,,wHAT HAPPENED TO YOU GAMZEE?,,,i CAN UNDERSTANT, IF YOU"RE ANGRY AT ME!

AT: bUT,,, wHY ARENT YOU, TALKING TO EVERYONE ELSE?

AT: sO,,, cOULD YOU PLEASE,,,kINDA TALK TO THE OTHERS? oR AT LEAST REPLY, AND TELL ME YOU'RE OK?

AT: mAYBE?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] blocked user adiosToreador **

...** *chat log Deleted***

That last message stung a little…

Sighing he looked over to his forever set to idle chumhandle and multitude of tiny crosses over all the blocked chums with nostalgia and a forlorn expression before pulling up Karkat's chumhandle and quickly typing in some commands.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] **

TC: kArBrO? yOu ThErE?

CG: FUCKING FINALLY, TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH.

TC: sHiT, sOrRy BrO. i OnLy JuSt WoKe Up A cOuPlE oF mInUtEs AgO dUe To…UnPleAsAnT mOtHeRfUcKiNg CiRcUmStAnCEs.

TC: NaMeLy ThE pOoL oF uNmIrAcUlOuS cOlOuR i Up AnD wOkE uP iN.

CG: YEAH I NOTICED. THAT'S GOING TO BE A FUCKING JOY TO WASH OFF THE WALLS.

TC: ….uMmM, I dOnT kNoW hOw To Up AnD rEsPoNd To ThAT, sOrRy?

CG: WAIT NO- FUCK, JUST SORRY OK, ANY FUCKING STONER FEELINGS I JUST UPSET I APOLOGIZE FOR.

CG: COUNT THE DAYS UNTIL THE APOCOLYPSE I JUST APOLOGIZED TO GAMZEE MOTHERFUCKING MAKARA. IN YOUR WORDS 'WHAT THE MOTHERFUCK IS UP WITH THIS'

TC: hAhA, s'CoOl No HaRsH fEeLiNgS bRo, CoUlD YoU uP aNd SeT tHe DoOrS tO oPeN fOr A bRoThEr?

CG: ALREADY DONE, JUST HAVE TO HIT THE BIG PROVERBIAL FUCKING RED BUTTON SO TO SPEAK. YOU SURE YOU'RE READY TO COME OUT? SURE YOU DON'T NEED ANOTHER MINUTE?

CG: GAMZEE?

**terminallyCapricious [TC] has gone idle.**

Gamzee noticed something odd in his reflection on the screen as his chum handle practically blew up with curses from Karkat for him to answer and get his ass off of idle. There was something off about the splashes of colour around his face. Specifically his mouth. Dragging his hand over the substance around his mouth he pulled it back to try and see what it was. A choked sound escaped his throat when his hand came back red. Dark and smudged but definitely _motherfucking red. _Jerkily snapping his head around, Gamzee searched for Karkat's body before realising he was panicking and not thinking straight. Karkat was perfectly safe, '_he was just TALKING to you seconds ago you stupid- but what the motherfuck is this?'_

Narrowing his eyes he managed to pick out a bundle in the corner that didn't have the jagged or crumbled texture of the piles around him. Squinting harder he gagged and jumped back, disrupting his husktop from his lap and sending it crashing to the ground, as he identified the pile to be a motherfucking cat.

Laying on its side, ripped open and at least half eaten away.

Gamzee managed to scramble back at least three steps from his crumpled husktop before he was violently vomiting up chunks of cat and bloodstained fur onto the floor.

After emptying most of his acid sac onto the ground, and gagging horribly on his own bile when he was empty, he reached over to his husktop with shaking hands, typing away furiously.

**terminallyCapricious [TC] has stopped being an idle chum.**

TC: oH mOtHeRfUcK nO, tHaT wAs NOT oK. KaR no fuck the font, Karkat get me the fuck out of here NOW oh god I just vomited up half a FUCKING MEOWBEAST karkat fuck motherfuck get me OUT NOW

CG: SHIT, GAMZEE CALM DOWN, THE DOORS ARE STARTING TO OPEN. COME ON, DEEP BREATHS. DON'T DO ANYTHING FUCKING STUPID

Gamzee snapped his screen shut and hazardously dumped his husktop onto the ground when he heard the screeching of the door opening. Springing up with surprising agility for his gangly jointed body he ignored the head rush of vertigo that pounded through his head and all but sprinted to the opening door. Not stopping to wait for it to fully open he dove under the door, ignoring the new scratches and sure to be bruises that would bloom shortly as he scrambled under, tumbling head over horns before coming to a stop on his back in the cool untainted air of the next freezing room.

"Fuck, Gamzee, what did I JUST say? You're going to fuck yourself up or something if you keep that up." Gamzee titled his head to see Karkat leaning over him, eyebrows furrowed but a concerned upside-down expression on his face nonetheless.

"I don't think I can fuck myself up anymore bro, I think this is the point of no return." Gamzee groaned while lifting his arms up in an indication for Karkat to haul him up off the ground because he didn't know if it was just him, but it was pretty damn chilly without a shirt on.

"You don't hear me disagreeing with you." Karkat huffed as he pulled Gamzee up as well as he could without dropping most of his bulk back onto the floor. "What the hell was so terrible that you couldn't wait for the damn door to open before bolting like a antler beast at the sound of leaves? You're going to start making even MORE holes in yourself at this rate."

Once up and standing, Gamzee supported himself on Karkat's shoulder heavily and groaned, "Motherfucker, you didn't just wake up to find a fluffy fucker torn open and partly in your digestive sack." Karkat swallowed thickly and nodded his head slowly "Yeah… I guess you found the meowbeast then."

"yeah. I up and happened to notice." Gamzee laughed bitterly, voice laced with just a hint of anger but still present nonetheless. "Right before emptying my motherfucking guts of him right out onto the floor." Karkat resisted flinching away but Gamzee felt the uncomfortable shift in the air and Karkat tense underneath him anything. Snapping out of it quickly enough Gamzee had the good grace of looking shamefaced to the floor.

"… Sorry bro, didn't mean to snap at you. You've done all this shit for me and all I've done is bitch and snap at you like a human sis on her rag."

"Yeah, yeah, calm your shrivelled tits about it Gamzee. Its ok, so don't go and worry about it anymore than you already have." Karkat huffed "And considering how well you've managed to reign that shit in and the LACK of dead bodies on my ass, I'd say it's safe to start drip feeding you back into society."

"Motherfuck, really Karbro?"

"Really, really." Karkat grunted shifting his shoulder to support Gamzee weight better. "Come on, we've got to get you cleaned up before we go back, you look like shit." Karkat began as they slowly started towards the room housing their bag of supplies.

"Did we up and remember the scissors?" Gamzee interrupted halfway through Karkat's rambling before being jerked to a sudden stop when Karkat stopped walking and stared blankly ahead.

"….No. No we did not." Karkat hissed out between clenched teeth.

"Aww crud, what are we gonna do now?" Gamzee groaned, managing a passable 1x face palm with the hand not lifting his weight off a now viable to explode Karkat.

"Gamzee, have you ever heard of a 'sickle cut'"

"No?"

"Well prepare yourself. It isn't a pleasant experience."

And with that, Karkat set to work. Much to the displeasure and *IMMENSE* discomfort of Gamzee

~ O-O ~

**I just noticed I didn't explain how Gamzee turns BACK to normal after all that stretching and shit… my answer? **

**MAGIC.**

**I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU ALL! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	17. Back to the norm of things then?

**_WHUP. I ACCIDENTLY UPDATED. Oh no, that is NOT the approach I wanted to take here. What will everyone think?! Updating?! HAVE I NO SHAME!_**

**_No seriously. WOW. Just WOW. Five months._**

**_This chapter isn't even deserving of your time, holy shit, I AM SO SORRY *slams head into desk*_**

**_CREDIT TO TAVROSGAMZEE! Because she is wonderful and helped me with some ideas for this chapter! (you have no idea how much I wanted to go along with the' _****Asshole brigade: Tie Karkat to a chair in Gamzee's hive and have a good old family style convention'****_ or_**** 'Gamzee: Lie to Eridan that Karkat likes him to get him off your back'****_)_**

**_And everyone else gets a credit too because you're all wonderful and magnificent. *throws out free credits and jars of fangirl tears like I'm Oprah* _**

**_IM SORRY. Life is shitty for students who do nothing but crawl on the floor in awe that people read their shit and then realise they have ten thousand assignments to do so they can function in society- NOT AN EXCUSE, I AM A HORRIBLE PERSON._**

**_Chapter 17: Back to the norm of things then?_**

It was still fairly early in the morn, around the time the early birds were just getting their papers from the lawns and the overly perky joggers scantily dressed even with the chill were witness to a rather strange sight. The sight, in particular, being a rather short and hunched over teenager muttering obscenities under his breath and looked like he needed a universe sized coffee whilst being trailed by another tall gangly teenager in the baggiest hoody imaginable with a terrible haircut and, by the looks of it, an equally terrible sleeping pattern.

Though strange as the sight was, not many were around to witness it. Which in Karkat's opinion, may have been the only upside to that morning. Seeing as spring was late and dumping miserable loads of last minute snow (pathetic sludge) on everyone and he had just come back from gathering and scraping the pieces of his morail off the walls.

'_It's fucking Saturday. No one should have to deal with this shit so early in the morning on a fucking. Saturday.' _Karkat ranted but as usual his inner monologue was disregarded by the world.

Typical.

Glancing behind him he could see that Gamzee was starting to lag from him but he didn't have the heart to tell him to hurry up. And go figure, the boy had been through some serious shit last night; he deserved a leisurely stroll through the suburbs at whatever pace he deemed fit.

Sighing, Karkat slowed his pace until he was walking next to Gamzee on the cramped footpath.

"Holding together, there?" Karkat asked. Gamzee grunted and kept walking, sparing Karkat a glance as he kept his focus on the icy ground. He did NOT want to make friends with the ground anytime soon.

Karkat, taking his silence for sulking, nudged him, "Hey, what the fuck do you have to complain about? You weren't the one who had to deal with the shit brigade last night." Karkat said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Huh? Oh, yeah brother. How'd that go for you?" Gamzee replied but kept his head down beneath his hoody.

"Oh the usual. Freezing artic cold winds blowing through the subways, trains that smell like piss and are inhabited by worst smelling hobo's choosing any unfortunate passer-by to be their next sleeping slab. Uninhabitable jungles disguised as front gardens and ungrateful dickweeds that won't even spare the time to greet

Gamzee chuckled hoarsely, "Quite a night then?"

Karkat spared Gamzee a concerned look, "Not as bad as some."

"Well, not the best way to spend a Friday night if a motherfucker gets my drift. I don't fancy another meow-beats except for shits and giggles for that matter as well."

There was silence between them for a street or two before Karkat spoke again, "How's your side?"

Gamzee grunted, "Wrapped up tighter than a motherfucking wriggler coon."

"Damn straight it is, I wrapped it."

"Bro, I can hardly breath."

"GOOD. That means it's on right."

"But it pinches!"

"IT'S SUPPOSED TO PINCH!"

"Whatever you say, pale bro…About what you said back at the storage building. You think that I could really start hanging with the others casual like again?"

Karkat sighed, "Well as long as you don't start flapping your lips about how awesome your fucking tail is I don't see why not. At least now we know you have somewhat of a handle on it and won't go around growling at anyone or flipping your shit whenever someone looks at you."

"Me flipping my shit and growling at people? Bro, I think you need to cast an eyeful inside like and have a look in the mirror!"

"I DO NOT FLIP MY SHIT AT PE-" Karket snapped his mouth, "Fuck you nookwhiffer. My exasperation towards you fuckers is fully justified on so many levels that Dante going through the inferno would look at me and go 'Damn, I'm SO glad I do not have to deal with the shit this guy is putting up with'."

"Who the fuck is this 'Dante'? Brother should come over some time."

Karkat face palmed and resisted the urge to punch Gamzee's shoulder, "No, just no Gamzee. It's a character in a human book I was reading for the bullshit education system we need to surpass to get to the end graduation tier."

"Well, best of luck to the brother than. Inferno's can't be easy to handle this early in the morning."

Karkat threw his head back and made a sound approximately along the lines of "hHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRrrGrRRRRAAAAAAWWOOOOOOHHHHHHH" as Gamzee chuckled softly and smiled. Not anything huge or goofy like Gamzee normally would, but a smile none the less.

Karkat managed to catch it and smiled slightly as well. He didn't look as beaten up or broken as before and for that, Karkat was grateful.

Mission accomplished.

They continued in comfortable silence.

~!~

_'Sneaking out just to sneak right back in again' _Gamzee smirked as they ascended the three steps to the apartment door. It was pretty ridiculous to think that less than twelve, maybe sixteen hours ago they had been playing ninja in the hallways, blending in with the shadows and shit, to sneak off to a 'haunted' warehouse so he could get his change on to becoming a magical rage monster.

It DID sound a little ridiculous. And overly stupid.

Well, at least this time they didn't have to be quiet. As Karkat jammed the key into the keyhole with an angry jab after the third failed attempt, Gamzee ran his hand through his new 'sickle cut'.

_'Shit man, it just weren't natural like y'know'_ He thought dejectedly, seeing as any verbal comment would be reproved with a swift cuff to his already sore head. To go and cut a brothers locks like that.

It wasn't nice in the least. Not to mention it HURT. Like a lot.

Having a serrated sickle cutting and yanking at your hair hurts, man, And Gamzee felt like he may have dodged a bullet when he had declined the offer to cut any MORE of the waste length.

_"Give it a try, maybe this way you won't wander into walls like a retarded wriggler crawling towards the sun." _Karkat had said, serrated sickle still gleaming wickedly in his hand. As courteously as he could, Gamzee had politely refused, thanked Karkat and wriggled out from under Karkat's deceptively tight headlock. Not to say Gamzee wasn't glad they hadn't gone back with him looking like some Rapunzel reject with a shitty hair dye job, he still didn't think Karkat found it NECESSARY to tackled him to the floor and pin him with his legs while locking him in a headlock to keep him from jerking whenever his hair was yanked (Which was a lot.) Sighing he looked down at the 'welcome fuck off' mat.

His haircut sucked.

It was nice to finally be home. It was _REALLY _nice tobe home.

Through the pain, Gamzee smiled brightly when Karkat managed to twist the key out of the gritty lock without snapping it in half and opened the door. Welcoming the warm scent of _home _as it washed over him he stepped past the threshold after Karkat. It was the first thing he'd managed to smile about in a while and he latched onto the feeling. Closing his eyes and nabbing the end of Karkat's shirt as they walked further into the building he used Karkat to guide him without having to open his eyes.

Focusing, he concentrated on the scents that had imprinted themselves into the walls and carpet, mingling with the subtler scents of dust and slightly stagnant air that lingered with whatever else the breeze took upon itself to blow their way.

Up the hallway and to the left he could smell the smoky, slightly sweet scent of Karkat accumulated in an almost burnt in track through the carpet to his room.

To his right, the smells accumulated into a sweet, sour, bitter and savoury mix of scents that managed to blend and mix in (questionable) harmony in the most occupied room of the house. He suddenly realised why Terezi enjoyed sticking her nose into everything.

It was almost as good as Sopor, the smell of home.

He could trace the paths were his friends had walked with his nose, and the thought almost had him giggling like a wriggler on a grubsauce high. He wondered how the others would react to him dragging his face along the ground as he followed a path or whether Terezi would scold him for not doing it right.

Although, he wasn't quite sure this was how Terezi 'saw' things. Maybe it was different for each troll? When Sollux had been blind, he had _felt_ things with his psionics rather than smelt, and after a while he'd just tagged along with Aradia and trusted her not to walk into any brick walls (although open staircases didn't seem to count). And for Gamzee, it was rather he _tasted _the air and scents of his friends. It wasn't so much a 'spectrum of delicious colours' like Terezi described, but an array of _flavours_. He wondered if he stuck his tongue out he would be able to taste the air around him. Curiously, he stuck his tongue out slightly and breathed in slowly. It was… faint…But there was definitely discernible flavours there. Praying that Karkat wouldn't choose this moment to turn around he stretched his tongue out fully and breathed in.

Down the hall he could taste the faint, minty paths left in the carpet from where Kanaya had been that morning, shuffling along in her slippers no doubt to get coffee and then retreat back to her room or find Rose. Inside the main room he could taste Feferi's tangy mulberry coming out and mingling with a sharp mustard like aftertaste from where Sollux and Feferi must have been making breakfast earlier on (seeing as the kitchen smelled like human kippers fish and toast).

In the corner of the room the mustard accumulated and blended with a closer stronger thick cherry like flavour, not unlike cordial that was masked with another cloying flavour. Like the dust from an ancient book left in a pristine library. He guessed it was Aradia but her flavour confused him. Dust? Did dust have a flavour? It was floaty and transparent and messed with his taste buds but it wasn't _unpleasant_ per say. More random and thoughtless, seeing as the only way to describe the flavour was _dust. _

Spooky. That's the flavour he'd call it. He officially dubbed it _spooky. _And kinda warm and adventurous… This was stupid. Taste couldn't be _fun and adventurous._

Gamzee rolled his eyes behind his eyelids at his 'special new friend taster' power. So that was the trade of? He could _taste _whether someone was a worthwhile person to get to know just so he could tear them apart?

He wasn't really concerned over how his friends smelled though as they approached the door until he crossed the rug and a puff of thick warm absolutely _delicious_ chocolate rose up around him-

Gamzee stuck his tongue back into his mouth and stopped breathing so fast his chest gave a painful shudder at the sudden cut off of oxygen.

Unaware of his shuddering, the smoky-sweet blob in front of him stopped and peered into the room they had been approaching.

"Oh. My. actual god." Karkat exclaimed, too exasperated or a percentage of done by what he saw in the living room that he didn't go on a rage tangent or, god forbid, a trigger induced rant. Actually, Karkat would rather bang his head into a plank of splintered wood repeatedly than ever be inspired into a 'triggered' rant.

"Kaaaaaarkles! What brings you down here so early in the morning?" The pile of warheads stationed next the couch shouted in barely suppressed glee.

"What. THE ACTUAL FUCK. Terezi." Karkat ground out, not so much massaging his temples but grinding down on the bone at the sides of his head with his fists in the vain hope that somehow it would erase the small fortune of warheads that were in front of him. "How many did you eat- HOW MUCH DID THAT COST?"

"Dude, relax. I was just showing our dearest Terezi here the wonders of human candies." Dave put in as his head emerged from the pile, dislodging some of the candies that were quickly herded back to the pile with a swift cane that appeared out of the middle of the pile, "Besides, would you put a price on joy? Look at her man, burrowed in their like an adorable little shit, Karkat. Karkat, look at her."

"I CAN'T FUCKING SEE HER THROUGH THE FUCKING MONEY I SEE BURNING IN FRONT OF MY EYES." Karkat screamed, "BURNING AWAY DAVE, ASHES FLUTTERING AWAY ON THE WHIMSICAL MONEY SUCKING WIND."

"Whoa dude, remember, no price on joy." Dave peace signed and slowly sunk back into the pile with a mighty crinkle of hard boiled candy wrappers.

"Oh fucking HELL no. Strider you get back here! You tell me how much she's eaten you shitstain for brains!" Karkat strode into the room and all but dived into the pile, "STRIDER! TERezi?...Jesus CHRIST it's like an unending hole! FUCK! Shit! Gamzee, GAMZEE! Pull me out!" Gamzee peered into the room to see Karkat's legs sticking out of the pile, flailing as an enraged screeching resonated from the crushing weight of candies, "GOD I AM ACTUALLY STUCK. YOU LITERALLY CREATED A FUCKING PARADOX OF MONEY GUZZLING BULLSHIT YOU NOOK SNIFFING MOTHERFU- YOU KNOW WHAT! I DON'T EVEN- GAMZEE!"

Ambling quickly into the room Gamzee managed to get a grip on Karkat's legs. After a few moments of tugging it was apparent that Karkat wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Gritting his teeth he strained back and heaved, ignoring the pressure it put on his sore back and hips. Karkat dislodged from the pile with a crinkly slurp and flurry of limbs and barely suppressed rage. Or at least, the physical kind of rage.

"Oh hey, Gamzee's with you."

Gamzee already tenacious grip on Karkat tightened as Dave called him out but a couple of screeches from Karkat managed to relax him enough to face his ex-ex-maybe kismesis and his ex-Kismesis.

"FUCK! I SAID PULL ME OUT NOT BREAK MY LEGS!"

"Well, I would have to say that you got yourself into this fine ass mess yourself! I'm just trying to offer my help out to a brother in need and asking of aid." Gamzee shot back with a smirk that Karkat most certainly couldn't see but could probably hear.

"Fuck you too, shit for brains!"

"You want my righteous help or not?"

"YES!"

"Then stop squirmin' around! S'not hard to drop a motherfucker when he's kicking you in the head."

"WHY ARE YOU STILL HOLDING ME UPSIDE DOWN?!"

"Soooo, Why'd you block me dude?" Dave said, interrupting the squabbling.

Gamzee jerked slightly but kept his face blank as Dave continued, "I thought even you could deal with getting your ass dished up by my sweet rhymes without sulking."

"Yeah, you blocked me as well? That reminds me, What the hell man!" Terezi surfaced as well, warheads stuck to bits of her clothing and hair (most probably for later consumption.)

"Oh, umm.." Gamzee struggled to think of an answer. Shit! Why hadn't he thought ahead for this? "Oh yeah, my… my computer up and blanked on me…and messed up my pesterchum."

"Why didn't you get Sollux? I bet he's just DYING to know how many viruses you managed to download this time." Terezi tilted her head and hit Gamzee with her best 'TH3 JURY 4W41TS YOUR 4NSW3R' smoulder.

"Didn't want to disturb him." Gamzee tried though even to him it didn't sound convincing.

"Please, you know he'd near wet himself at the chance to patch your firewall." Terezi didn't sound convinced.

Gamzee was quickly running out of steam to fuel his excuses, "Yeah, well-"

"Oh. Don't mind me. I'm just hanging around as a bumbling MORON holds me upside down talking to MORE bumbling morons as I stare into the depths of our bank savings! Oh, no, no, don't bother! Hopefully the blood rushing to my head will cause a pressure induced explosion and I won't have to deal with your frond-gazing nooktards again!"

"Frond-gazing? The hell does that even mean?" Dave's voice asked from the pile.

"I DON'T KNOW. MAYBE IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE LACK OF BLOOD IN MY LOWER HALF THAT HAS CRUSHED MY BRAIN!"

Gamzee righted Karkat the right side up quickly and stepped back from where he stood glaring before rummaging through his backpack and dropping the empty data cards into the pile where they sank down, hopefully, into Striders hands.

"There, make sure these make their way to Sollux. Tell him to rip some codes from whatever fucking car comes down the street and if he chooses something with stripes on it I will personally find the nearest blunt object and blind him again. Now. I am going to my recupercoons and passing out. Come on, Gamzee." As Karkat walked past Gamzee idly grabbed the back of his shirt again.

As Gamzee walked out behind Karkat he couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. That had been a close call, and one he didn't want to repeat soon. Luckily, they didn't run into anyone else as they entered Karkat's apartment with another furious jangle of keys accompanied with angry mutterings of, "Did any fucktard even CHECK to see if any of the keys fit the locks?"

Karkat's place smelt like the inside of a hippy shop full of spices.

"Godamn idiots, think we're made of money. WELL WE MIGHT HAVE CREATED A UNIVERSE BUT THAT WON'T STOP US GOING FUCKING BROKE! Ugh, and they broke the last pair of scissors in the house. Shit, that reminds me, remember that list we made? Well. Hopefully you do because all that shit we just went through? THAT'S WHY WE MAKE A LIST!" Karkat glanced behind at Gamzee as he towed him along, "I can't believe you're still moping! Jesus Christ, what happened to the optimistic little shit from thirty minutes ago?" With another glance over his shoulder he noticed the little splotches of purple on Gamzee's T-shirt. "Ahh crap, you're bleeding again and it's on your- would you LET GO OF MY FUCKING SHIRT! Godamnit, you've fucking stretched it!" Karkat wrenched his shirt out of Gamzee's hands and glared at him. Fucker, this was the finest linen that Wal-mart had to buy! Rolling his eyes as Gamzee shrugged helplessly at him, he waved him off in the direction of his bedroom.

"Go on shirt wrecker, there should be some spare clothes in my room that MIGHT fit your stupidly gigantic and moronically lanky body. Pray for a miracle though." Karkat called after Gamzee as he slinked off to his bedroom to change.

Once there, Gamzee wasn't sure were to start. Shit, what felt the dirtiest? What needed cleansing first? What needed to be burnt?

Was starting with his skin an option?

_'whoa, motherfucking dark there, Gamzee?'_

Sighing, he decided that starting with his oversized hoody would probably be the best option. Taking extreme care he inched his hoody over his shoulders even as the gash in his side stretched and ached in protest. Once the dirty fabric was out of the way he was able to examine the bandaged strapping his midsection from under the lighter T-shirt. Huffing out a breath he tried to pull at the bandages under his shirt to loosen them. He had to hand it to Karkat, he could strap a wound tighter than a jade-bloods panties. Which was stupid seeing how Kanaya was probably getting laid more than the rest of them combined.

Looking around the room briefly Gamzee noted that it was adorned with just as many posters as Karkat's old recupercoon-room back on Alternia, though the posters lacked the horns that usually adorning the troll actors.

Oh wait, Karkat had most definitely saved his treasured 'thresh prince' poster with troll Will Smith.

Deciding that he should stop fucking around in Karkat's room, he pulled his t-shirt over his head and gazed down fully at the bleed purple bandages. Sighing and wishing for a shower he threw the fabric down on the ground and started to untie his pants, GOD his tail was cramped from staying so still for so long. He really needed to stretch and soon before it fell off.

Oh hey, that wasn't such a bad plan actually.

After a second of consideration he groaned as another shot of pain shot its way up the length and he decided against it. Besides, it was good for SOME things. Like hitting his alarm clock without turning over and sometimes closing doors behind him when he forgot. Starting to shuck off his pants as he walking towards Karkat's closet, to find a hamper bag to chuck the dirty clothes in, he was about to reach the handle when a loud thump came from behind the door and he jumped back in shock, pulling his pants back up to his hips.

Gamzee's ears flicked forward as he stared apprehensively at the closet that had just made a thumping noise and kept a tight hold on his pants.

It was with the utmost expressions of 'what the hell is going n' when he heard muffled whispering and hissing coming from the closet.

"What the motherfuck?"

~ O-O ~

**So not the length nor the quality that I would have preferred but after five MONTHS of turning nothing out I thought I owed you all at LEAST something.**

**Next chapter out CONSIDERABLY faster! *hopefully I can re-edit this and upload it again later when I get a PROPER go at editing this shit***

**I TIP MY TINY TOPHAT TO YOU FINE, FINE LORDS AND LADIES!**

**(…..I couldn't resist, in response to a certainly generous anon… FIDDLESTICKS! I MISSED OUT ON THE CHANCE TO GET NOT ONLY ONE NEWBORN CHILD BUT A SECOND ONE FREE, GOSH DARN IT.)**

**((I'm so sorry for all tears shed over this story, here have them back so you can cry for something worthwhile *hands out more jars of fangirl/boy tears.))**


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